World-renowned climber Nirmal Purja among 10 struck by avalanche on Pakistan mountain

• The United Nations has formally launched the global selection process to find a successor for the outgoing Secretary-General, António Guterres. • The search occurs against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical flashpoints and compounding global crises that are currently straining multilateral diplomacy.

• Iran utilized a three-day lull in bombings and Omani mediation as a tactical respite to replenish missile launchers and prepare a surprise attack. • The situation escalated rapidly within the last 24 hours, resulting in the largest wave of U.S. strikes against the Revolutionary Guard since the conflict began.

• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility on Thursday for an attack on a US military base located in Kuwait as part of "Operation Nasr-2." • In a retaliatory move, US air strikes targeting Iran's Zanjan province resulted in the deaths of at least three IRGC members.

• The provided text argues that peace diplomacy should not be measured by quantitative metrics or traditional weighing systems. • The core objective of these diplomatic efforts is to prevent the onset of conflicts and wars, reduce escalation during active hostilities, and facilitate post-war rebuilding.

Senators Warren and Van Hollen attack Republican ‘rubber stamps’ in Congress for surrendering authority to TrumpSenior Democrats accused Republicans in the US Congress of becoming “gelatinous blobs” who won’t stand up to Donald Trump and “rubber stamps” for his war on Iran.Elizabeth Warren, a US senator for Massachusetts, and Chris Van Hollen, a US senator for Maryland, argued that the Republican-controlled Congress had surrendered its constitutional authority to the president. Continue reading...

During her first visit to Ghana, Dame Sarah Mullally expressed regret and said the controversial fund symbolises the Christian belief in repentanceAt a former British castle where thousands of enslaved Africans were held before being shipped across the Atlantic, the archbishop of Canterbury expressed “lament” for the Church of England’s involvement in transatlantic chattel slavery and reaffirmed her commitment to a controversial £100m fund for affected communities.Dame Sarah Mullally made the comments on Thursday during a visit to the Cape Coast castle, a 17th-century fortress that was built by Swedish traders, but occupied by the Danish and the Dutch, before the British seized it in 1664. Continue reading...

The Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association had challenged the decision to grant planning permissionConstruction of a new Chinese super embassy in London can go ahead after the High Court dismissed a challenge to the government’s decision to grant planning permission.The Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association (RMCRA) brought legal action against the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Continue reading...

Ben Cohen says his ice cream company has been silenced by corporate ownership – and a boycott of Magnum brands could force a saleBen & Jerry’s ice cream in the tub is still great, but the brand’s newest chocolate-covered ice cream bar on a stick?“It ain’t the same,” Ben Cohen, the company co-founder, told the Guardian. Sure, the chocolate coating is still thick enough, but the ice cream itself is “kinda fluffy”, Cohen said – an insult in the ice cream world that suggests extra air was added to cut costs. Continue reading...

Rudakubana, serving life sentence for murders of three girls at dance event ⁠in 2024, charged with multiple assaultsThe Southport killer Axel Rudakubana serving life in prison for ⁠the murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event ⁠in 2024 ⁠has ​been charged with multiple assaults on prison staff, police have said.On ⁠29 July 2024, Rudakubana, then 17, launched a frenzied knife attack in Southport, north-west England, killing Bebe King, six, Elsie ​Dot Stancombe, seven, ‌and Alice Dasilva ‌Aguiar, nine. Continue reading...

Companies must ensure people know when they are interacting with artificially generated images, audio and text designed to look realFrom apparently conspiring to steal elections to abusing staff or performing embarrassing dance moves, the last few years have seen plenty of fake content made about politicians intended to malign its targets and mislead the public.Now EU rules aim to stem the flood of this deceptive content: starting from Sunday, artificially generated images, audio and text designed to look authentic must be labelled. Continue reading...

Trio set up Swift Partners for the acquisition, allowing supermarket to focus on core food businessSainsbury’s has agreed to sell the Argos retail chain for £120m to allow it to concentrate on its core food business.The supermarket announced on Friday it was selling the catalogue shopping business to a trio of retail veterans, a decade after buying the company for more than £1bn. Continue reading...