UK to pay France extra £16m in stopgap deal to patrol Channel beaches

• Kosovo approved a plan to send soldiers to the Gaza Strip as part of a US-backed international security force, joining Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, and Albania in making similar commitments. • The deployment represents an expansion of the international coalition participating in the Middle East security operation. • Kosovo's participation demonstrates growing international involvement in establishing security frameworks in the Gaza region.

• US President Donald Trump threatened Monday to destroy Iran's Kharg Island crude oil export hub, along with oil wells and power plants, unless Tehran quickly accepts a deal to end the US-Israeli war. • The threat of potential US ground operations to seize Kharg Island is creating significant tremors through financial and energy markets, as well as raising concerns among neighbouring Gulf countries. • Trump expressed hope about talks with a "more reasonable regime" in Tehran on his Truth Social network, an apparent reference to new leadership despite the month-long war failing to dislodge the Islamic Republic.

Luanne James said as a librarian she had an obligation to protect the public’s right to access informationSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA Tennessee library director has been fired after she refused to relocate more than 100 LGBTQ+-themed children’s titles to the library system’s adult section.The Rutherford county library board on Monday voted to fire Luanne James following a heated emergency meeting that involved supporters of hers chanting “We stand with Luanne!” while wearing shirts that read “Protect the freedom to read.” Continue reading...

Though the US is almost certainly not going to have a draft, media commentary and online anxiety have surfacedThe United States is almost certainly not going to have a military draft to fight Iran. That hasn’t stopped the chatter, and anxiety, across the country.In recent weeks, Donald Trump has ordered a number of marines and army paratroopers to head to the Middle East, gesturing toward a possible ground war to reopen the strait of Hormuz or secure nuclear weapons material. The provocative military activity has led to speculative conversation about what it would take to invade a country twice the population and three times the territory of Iraq. Continue reading...

Luca Cella Walker asked chatbot for best way for someone to kill themself on railway line before his deathA 16-year-old boy killed himself after asking ChatGPT for the “most successful” way to take your own life, an inquest has been told.Luca Cella Walker, a private school pupil from Yateley, Hampshire, died on 4 May last year. Continue reading...

Many countries in Europe have called the conflict illegal, with some blocking Israeli and US planes from moving weapons through their airspaceDonald Trump has launched a tirade against European countries that refused to join his war against Iran, calling out the UK and France, as transatlantic relations soured from the spiralling conflict that has wreaked havoc on the global economy.On his Truth Social website, the US president told governments worried about fuel prices to “go get your own oil” by force from the Gulf, comments that sent oil prices even higher. Continue reading...

Poll of 10,000 teachers also finds ‘overwhelming’ exam anxiety and rising absenteeism linked to poor mental healthAlmost half of primary school teachers are seeing pupils with eating disorders “at least occasionally”, rising to four in five at secondary level, according to a survey by the UK’s largest education union.The findings emerged in a poll of 10,000 teachers in English state schools about pupils’ mental health, which also revealed “overwhelming” exam anxiety in secondaries and dwindling numbers of counsellors to support students. Continue reading...

The German chancellor has drawn condemnation from NGOs and members of his own governmentFriedrich Merz has drawn condemnation from NGOs and members of his own government after he called for the vast majority of Syrians living in Germany to “go back to their homeland.”The German chancellor, who was elected last year after promising a tough line on immigration in a bid to beat the far right, made the remarks during a visit to Berlin on Monday by the interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa. Continue reading...

Nearly a quarter of voters site the Reform leader’s support for the US president as the primary reason for not voting for his partyBy day 31 of the war in the Middle East, Nigel Farage had become somewhat less vocal about the closeness of his relationship with Donald Trump.“Trying to read what’s really in the minds of people in the White House right at the moment is a mug’s game,” said the MP, as he unveiled his party’s latest “pledge” to cut the cost of living on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Tabloid outlet has covered Republicans and Democrats relaxing at places like Disney World as shutdown drags onWhen US federal workers were missing paychecks and the partial government shutdown entered its seventh week, Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, was doing what any responsible lawmaker would do: riding Space Mountain and carrying a bubble wand at Disney World in Florida.Naturally, TMZ had photos of the vacationing senator on its homepage a few days later. Continue reading...

Marine told investigators he found the round ‘in the field’ about a year ago and kept it, thinking it wasn’t liveSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA US Marine was detained at a California airport after Transportation Security Administration personnel found a live 25mm explosive round in his checked baggage, police said.The round was found during the screening process of checked luggage at Palm Springs international airport on Monday, the Palm Springs police department said in a news release. Continue reading...