Deaths

• The entertainment and political worlds saw the loss of several prominent figures in 2026, including actor Sam Neill, Godzilla vs. Kong star Kaylee Hottle, and Senator Lindsey Graham. • Other notable deaths reported include musicians Glen Hansard and Jayden Adams, as well as actor Randolph Mantooth. • These losses represent a significant impact on Hollywood and U.S. politics, marking the end of diverse careers across cinema and government.

Official figures expose widening gap in road casualty rates between poor and wealthy postcodesThe number of children killed or seriously injured crossing roads is almost five times higher in the most deprived postcodes than the wealthiest areas, official analysis suggests.The figures from the Department for Transport show a widening gap over the past 10 years in road casualties between those living in the poorest 10% of postcodes of England and the most affluent 10%. Continue reading...

Analysis of samples collected from carcasses found traces of toxic chemical compound, says Kenya Wildlife ServiceThe recent deaths of 15 elephants near a park in southern Kenya in the past month were likely caused by the animals ingesting pesticides used on nearby tomato farms, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has said.Erustus Kanga, the agency’s director general, told Citizen TV that analysis of samples collected from the carcasses had found traces of cyanide, a chemical compound used in farming as a predator control poison and a pest fumigant, also used by poachers. Continue reading...

UKHSA estimates 2,877 heat-associated deaths during heatwaves in May and June, almost twice the number in summer 2025The number of excess deaths caused by heatwaves has almost doubled so far this year in England compared with 2025, the UK Health Security Agency, has said.There were 2,877 heat-associated deaths during the heatwaves in May and June this year, a report has estimated, almost double the figure reported from the UK heatwaves in June to August last year. Continue reading...

Mental health experts to triage triple zero calls, but not all of the changes will be implemented 24/7 or statewideNew South Wales will send specialist nurses rather than police to some mental health emergencies after the state announced long-fought-for reform in the wake of multiple deaths at the hands of police.Rose Jackson and Yasmin Catley, the mental health and police ministers, announced on Thursday a statewide change to how triple 0 calls are triaged, with a new team of mental health experts assessing mental health calls 24/7 in a bid to provide better support. Continue reading...

Authorities say local transmission of H5 bird flu virus among South Australian birds signals ‘shift in the situation’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia has entered a new phase in dealing with the incursion of deadly H5N1 bird flu, with authorities confirming on Wednesday that local transmission of the highly virulent strain had taken place.“We have had what is suggestive of local transmission for the first time,” Julie Collins, the federal minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, said on Wednesday afternoon, after 11 new suspected detections were reported in South Australian birds. Continue reading...

Police say search for three-month-old a ‘retrieval effort’ after bodies of mother Helena Wright and toddler found in the ocean near Port MacdonnellGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHopes of finding a three-month-old boy alive have faded as South Australian police investigate the death of his mother and sister as a murder-suicide.The bodies of Helena Wright, 36, and her 23-month-old daughter were found in the ocean off the coast west of Port Macdonnell on Monday. Continue reading...

Potential toxic substance detected in several of 15 elephants found dead in Kenya’s Amboseli national parkOfficials are investigating the deaths of 15 elephants over the past month in Kenya’s Amboseli national park.The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said 10 of the elephants showed signs of partial paralysis before dying within two days. Continue reading...

Six migrants from Honduras and Mexico – including 14-year-old boy – were found dead in May near US-Mexico borderSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email A US attorney announced a federal indictment on Friday against 11 people in the smuggling deaths of six migrants whose bodies were found in a rail cargo container in Texas in May.The six people were found dead in a rail yard shipping container in Laredo, on the US-Mexico border. They were from Honduras and Mexico and included a 14-year-old boy, all part of a human-smuggling effort on a freight train, authorities said. Continue reading...

Strategy will tackle ‘public health disaster’ that claims more lives than fire, flooding or knife crimeA national strategy to address the “public health disaster” of drowning has been launched in England – hours after two women died at an Essex beach, the latest in a surge of water-related tragedies.Among the measures being considered are: providing every child in England with water safety education and swimming lessons; establishing how climate change can increase risks; and media campaigns to inform bystanders how to respond to a potential drowning. Continue reading...

• UN partners have launched the Winter Response Plan to provide critical aid to 2.1 million people in Ukraine to help them survive the upcoming cold season amid the ongoing Russian invasion. • In the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 30 people were killed and dozens injured during attacks in the Beni territory between July 13 and 19. • The violence in DR Congo has forced at least six humanitarian organizations to suspend their operations and movements within the affected territory.

Figures come as large parts of southern Europe endure another record-breaking period of extreme temperaturesFrance recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during its June heatwave, authorities have said, as swathes of southern Europe continue to endure another record-breaking period of extreme temperatures.The French national health agency said on Wednesday that it had recorded 5,764 excess deaths ⁠between ​17 June and 2 July, an excess mortality rate of 36%. Continue reading...

• UN human rights experts condemned the M23 armed group on Tuesday for orchestrating a "reign of terror" in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. • The Rwanda-backed group is accused of systemic sexual torture and violence targeting civilians within the territories it controls. • UNICEF has joined the call for an immediate end to these attacks, emphasizing the urgent need to protect children and humanitarian facilities.

Democrats have called for an end to the war’s resumption amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. Plus: Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham on finding stardom in her 50sGood morning. Democrats have seized on the killing of three US troops in Iranian strikes to urge Donald Trump to reverse his resumption of the war with Iran. Amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties, Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator for Connecticut, accused the president of having “frighteningly lost control of this war”.Even as US forces launched a 10th consecutive wave of attacks against Iranian targets, concern over the deaths of American service personnel threatened to complicate moves to escalate the conflict, which has reignited after Trump last week walked away from a memorandum of understanding agreed with Iran in June.How has Iran responded to continued US strikes? Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they had targeted US military sites, including air defence systems and a radar installation in Bahrain and Kuwait, while the crew of a tanker in the strait of Hormuz reported being ⁠struck by an unknown projectile. Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan said they had activated defences to repel the attacks.How many people have been killed and injured in the war so far? The latest casualties brought the number of US service members killed since the start of the war on 28 February to at least 17. More than 1,700 Iranian civilians are estimated to have been killed. Nearly 100 US service members have been injured over the last two weeks of escalating strikes.What is happening with Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat? Darline Graham, the South Carolina interim senator and sister of the late Lindsey Graham, said she plans to run for a full Senate term after Trump endorsed her last week. In an interview with Sean Hannity, Graham – who was appointed by Governor Henry McMaster to finish the remainder of her brother’s term – said she had “made a decision. I’m in.”Why are their fresh concerns about AI chatbots and elections? A European study, published by the civil liberties group Liberties and based on research during this year’s Hungarian parliamentary elections, has concluded that AI chatbots provide inaccurate, inconsistent and unreliable guidance to voters asking which party they should back. Continue reading...

President accused of having ‘lost control of this war’ as deaths of trio in Iranian military strikes fuel rising concernDemocrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Donald Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties.Even as US forces launched a 10th consecutive wave of attacks against Iranian targets, concern over the deaths of American service personnel threatened to complicate moves to escalate the conflict, which has reignited after he last week walked away from a memorandum of understanding agreed with Iran in June. Continue reading...

• CENTCOM has confirmed the deaths of three U.S. service members resulting from Iranian-linked attacks in Jordan and Iraq. • President Donald Trump described the losses as "a very sad thing" and reaffirmed his commitment to confronting Iran's nuclear ambitions. • Separately, a power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait suffered a second attack in two days, causing a fire and the precautionary shutdown of several units.

Preliminary deal aimed at ending the war has collapsed as US and Iran fight to break deadlock over strait of HormuzUS says another service member killed as Israel warns Tehran’s attacks coming closeHello and welcome to our live coverage of developments in the Middle East.The US military says it is beginning its ninth night of strikes on Iran, with an interim deal aimed at ending the war appearing to have all but collapsed.Bahrain’s interior ministry said overnight to Monday that its air raid sirens had sounded. “Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” it said on X. Bahrain, host of the US Fifth Fleet, has been targeted by Iranian strikes in recent days.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Monday it launched a “surprise attack” on an enemy command centre in Syria, in a statement reported by state news agency Irna. They attack was “in revenge for the blood of martyred soldiers of Iranshahr”, a city in south-east Iran, Irna said on Telegram.Iran said it targeted two US bases in Kuwait in response to more than a week of intensifying attacks, which Tehran says have hit transport and infrastructure sites, including an under-construction nuclear power plant.Kuwait and Bahrain have borne the brunt of attacks by Iran on its Gulf neighbours since hostilities resumed this month despite a ceasefire and memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.Jordan also reported intercepting missiles, a day after the US military said the two service members were killed there Friday and another had gone missing in action as they “defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks”.US Central Command’s announcement that a service member died in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of an unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone brought to 17 the confirmed number of American military fatalities since the war began. Iran’s health ministry said on ‌Saturday that 50 people had been killed ​and more than 500 injured in US strikes ​on the country over the past three weeks. Continue reading...

• The United States launched bombing strikes against Iran to "swiftly punish" the regime for the deaths of two American soldiers. • In retaliation, Iran targeted Gulf states hosting U.S. troops, including a second attack within two days on a Kuwaiti power and water desalination plant. • The strike in Kuwait sparked a significant fire at a facility critical to the nation's infrastructure, as Kuwait relies on desalination for approximately 90% of its drinking water.

• UN human rights chief Volker Türk has issued an urgent appeal for calm in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir following unrest preceding regional elections. • The situation is occurring alongside a broader global trend of displacement driven by the war in Ukraine and unresolved regional conflicts. • Environmental factors, including extreme heat, droughts, and floods, are further exacerbating the movement of people and instability.

Australian government says it is ‘deeply frustrated’ and will continue to press for ‘real charges with teeth’ over deaths of Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-BowlesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government says it wants “real charges with teeth” over the fatal methanol poisoning of two teenage travellers in Laos, as authorities prepare to lay lesser charges that have been called “bitterly” disappointing.Melbourne travellers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were backpacking through the south-east Asian nation in late 2024 when they were fatally poisoned with methanol while drinking at Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng. Continue reading...

Since start of Trump’s second term, 14 Mexican immigrants have died in ICE custody and three in agency operationsMexico formally requested that US state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of immigrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or during raids, the Mexican government said Tuesday.The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, 17 Mexican immigrants have died during immigration enforcement, 14 in ICE custody and three in agency operations. Continue reading...

Government, which provides significant portion of charity’s funding, is understood to have demanded an explanationThe charity Save the Children has angered the government with a social media post marking Keir Starmer’s impending exit from Downing Street.The organisation suggested on X that the outgoing prime minister was complicit in the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Israel-Gaza war. Continue reading...

The March 2025 marine disaster may be linked to a high number of dolphin deaths in the region, scientists sayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe number of dead dolphins washing up on South Australian beaches spiked in 2025, according to long-term data that reveals mortalities during the state’s devastating algal bloom were the highest in 12 years.Last year, at least 70 carcasses of common and bottlenose dolphins were found across South Australia, with a further 20 reported in 2026, including the recent death of a popular Port River dolphin known as Zoom. Continue reading...

Authorities confirm worst toll in more than 20 years as new extreme temperatures force early closure of Eiffel TowerNearly 100 people, the largest proportion of whom were young men, died by drowning in Germany last month, authorities have said, as extreme temperatures in western Europe that have been blamed for hundreds of excess deaths geared up again.In Germany’s worst death toll from drowning for more than two decades, 99 people died in June, according to official figures, after temperatures rose as high as 41.7C (107.1F) in some areas. Continue reading...

At least 43 killed and many wounded, including woman and child hurt at World Cup gathering in Los AngelesA weekend of celebrations as the US marked its semiquincentennial was marred by outbreaks of gun violence that claimed dozens of lives and left multiple other people wounded.Those hurt included a woman and a child among four shot during a gathering of Mexico soccer supporters in Los Angeles following their team’s World Cup elimination on Sunday night. Continue reading...

Temperatures could reach 44C in south-east Spain as fights break out in Paris supermarkets over air-conditioning unitsSpain and France are bracing for another possible heatwave that could bring temperatures of 44C (111F) over the coming days, as figures show that June’s extreme heat was responsible for more than 2,000 excess deaths in the two countries.Spain’s state meteorological agency, Aemet, said a mass of dry and very hot air would bring persistently high temperatures to much of Spain from Saturday, adding that temperatures in parts of the south-east could hit 42C to 44C on Tuesday. Continue reading...

• Europe experienced a devastating heatwave in 2026, resulting in 1,028 deaths in Spain alone. • The crisis highlighted critical infrastructure failures, as older hospital buildings struggled to maintain safe temperatures for patients. • This event underscores the increasing lethality of extreme weather patterns and the inadequacy of current healthcare facilities to handle heat stress.

Analysis reveals extent of impact on NHS of placating Donald Trump over price of British medicine exportsThe NHS will have to divert £45bn from essential services to pay for new medicines under the terms of the UK-US trade deal agreed last December, leading to more than 200,000 avoidable deaths of patients, analysis has found.Ministers have defended the deal as a way of helping British drug exports to the US avoid tariffs, and giving patients in England access to potentially life-extending drugs that would otherwise be denied. Continue reading...