• US CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper recently visited Israel and Lebanon, meeting with senior leaders and Lebanese Army Chief General Rodolph Haykal to discuss regional security and military cooperation.
• Iranian media has reported that there are currently "no talks" occurring, despite updates regarding a potential meeting in Qatar involving Donald Trump.
• In a separate diplomatic effort, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and Oman will collaborate with international partners to demine the Strait of Hormuz.
• Singapore’s main opposition Workers’ Party has voted to retain Pritam Singh as secretary-general despite his recent legal convictions.
• The decision follows a special vote among party cadres after Singh was found guilty of lying to a parliamentary committee.
• This move signals the party's continued trust in Singh's leadership and its defiance against legal challenges aimed at its top official.
• Opinion writers for KFF Health News address critical public health concerns, including the loss of the United States' measles-eliminated status and the safety of sunscreen.
• One contributor argues that the U.S. can no longer claim to have eliminated measles due to recent outbreaks and declining vaccination rates.
• The collection also features a political perspective questioning the security of the pharmaceutical supply chain and the influence of Chinese Communist Party-controlled companies on prescription refills.
• Tech firms and investors are continuing to pour capital into artificial intelligence despite growing concerns that the sector is in a bubble heading toward a crash.
• While some signs of waning appetite appeared early in the year, many of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants have resorted to borrowing to sustain their AI investments.
• This trend is driven by massive current profits and a "fear of missing out" (FOMO) among investors who are desperate to avoid being left behind.
• European cinemas generated nearly €6.9 billion in box-office revenue in 2025, demonstrating financial resilience despite an overall decline in admissions.
• Local productions remained a critical driver for sustaining theater attendance across multiple European territories, according to a report by UNIC.
• The industry continues to evolve through strategic events like the Sorrento Industry Days and the CinemaHora Forum in Moldova to support new filmmakers.
Committee will meet in July to discuss peptides now sold in gray market despite limited evidence of safety and efficacyAdvisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon hold a meeting about whether to ease restrictions on access to some research peptides, a group of drugs with a zealous following and thin evidence to support them.If restrictions are eased, US compounding pharmacies would be able to produce and fill prescriptions for Americans – a change that would effectively legalize a thriving gray market. Continue reading...
• Accel is deploying capital from its eighth India fund, launched in January 2025 with a total corpus of $650 million.
• The fund targets investments across AI, consumer, fintech, and manufacturing, with 10-15% of the corpus specifically allocated to the manufacturing sector.
• Subrata Mitra of Accel asserts that India can still produce AI winners despite the current technological lead held by the US and China.
• Tensions have escalated in the Strait of Hormuz as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues to insist on designated transit routes.
• This dispute persists despite ongoing ceasefire discussions between the United States and Iran aimed at stabilizing the region.
• Foreign policy expert Col. Rajeev Agarwal notes that Oman has historically acted as a peacemaker, with the Omani Foreign Minister mediating right up until U.S. attacks began.
Allies of Reeves lobby to keep her as chancellor as the ‘stable’ choice while Wes Streeting and Ed Miliband also in the pictureUK politics live – latest updatesRachel Reeves has given her support to Andy Burnham to be the next prime minister, despite reports that she is likely to be moved out of the role of chancellor if he becomes the next Labour leader.The chancellor told the BBC she and Burnham were friends and did not appear to rule out accepting a more junior cabinet position. “I’m supporting Andy to be prime minister,” she said. Continue reading...
• GIFT Nifty rose on Wednesday morning, signaling a positive opening for the Indian benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty.
• The upward trend persists despite a global sell-off in technology stocks and market concerns regarding a potentially hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve.
• Lower crude oil prices are acting as a key support factor, helping to offset the negative influence of Wall Street's volatility.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke says return permit ‘has to be issued’ following advice from agencies and lawyersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Australian woman linked to the Islamic State group has been given authorisation to return to Australia, after the government was advised it could no longer enforce a criminal exclusion order.The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said the woman would face an unprecedented level of security monitoring once she arrives in the country, including constant monitoring and requirements to report to authorities regularly. Continue reading...
Experts say law not enough to stop children accessing harmful content online and more ‘convincing strategy is required’More than 80% of under-16s in Australia said they were still using social media three months after legislation banning them from it came into force, research shows.Australia is the first country to ban social media for children. Since December 2025, under-16s have been prohibited from having accounts with many social media platforms including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. Continue reading...
Martin Seidenberg, chief executive of parent company IDS, handed payouts after takeover of UK postal serviceBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of the parent company of Royal Mail saw his pay and bonus package more than triple last year to almost £7m, despite group profits slumping by a fifth.Martin Seidenberg, the group chief executive of International Distribution Services (IDS), took home £6.9m in pay, bonus and long-term incentive scheme awards in the year to 31 March. This compares with the £2.1m he took home the previous year. Continue reading...
One Nation leader says she isn’t suggesting Australia get rid of taxpayer-funded parental leave entitlementsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPauline Hanson says small businesses will “fold” under the cost of providing paid parental leave, as Labor suggested the One Nation leader didn’t understand how the policy worked.It is not compulsory for employers to pay parental leave entitlements in Australia, though most businesses do provide it and employees are entitled to 12 months of unpaid leave. Continue reading...
Herbicide manufacturer Sygenta had reservations dating back to 1970s but regulator says tighter controls, including phasing out backpack sprayers, can protect workersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe herbicide paraquat, banned in over 70 countries, will remain legal in Australia despite Parkinson’s groups, scientists and neurologists arguing there is a strong correlation between direct exposure and the incidence of the disease.The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) announced its final decision on Tuesday following a decades-long review of the highly toxic paraquat and a related chemical, diquat. Both are widely used in Australian agriculture. Continue reading...
Earnings from mining the fossil fuel set to increase to $6.9bn over financial year, up from $4.8bn, with budget deficit to reach $6.17bnFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland’s treasurer says he’s “not giving up” on halting a ratings downgrade for the state’s finances after handing down a budget full of red ink, amid predictions state borrowing will top $200bn in three years.David Janetzki promised a budget surplus in 2029-30, the year after the state’s next election – but only after years of billion-dollar deficits.Government revenue will increase 5.1% over the forward estimates, driven by increases in government duties, payroll tax and royalties.Spending will grow, rising from $100.8bn in 2025-26 to $111.6bn in 2029-30.The government says it is committed to returning the budget to a “fiscally sustainable position through strong expenditure management”, with expense growth dropping from 4.9% in 2026-27 to an average of 2.6% over the four years to 2029-30.Half a billion dollars will be saved through better coordinating procurement, reducing the cap on senior executive positions and reduced spending on contractors and consultants.$119.2bn for new roads, bus projects and rail in the next four years, and other infrastructure.The state’s 50 cent fare scheme will remain and be legislated. Continue reading...
US president threatened Iran over strait of Hormuz in sweary outburst. Plus, Starmer to step down as UK’s PM two years after historic landslideGood morning. Iran’s foreign minister has declared “progress” after the first day of talks between high-ranking officials from Washington and Tehran ended in Switzerland, despite a tense opening marked by Donald Trump’s threats to restart attacks.Abbas Araghchi said Pakistani and Qatari mediation “has delivered major progress to end [the] Lebanon war”. Iran has been adamant that Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon must end as part of any deal. The Israelis are not directly participating in the talks.What has been agreed? A joint statement from mediators Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran agreed a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks between lower-ranked officials will continue for the rest of the week. In a development that is critical to unlocking progress, the US Treasury was also preparing to issue a 60-day waiver lifting sanctions on oil, petrochemicals and derivatives.What threat did Trump issue to the Iranians? Over the weekend, Iran said it had reinstated its blockade in the strait of Hormuz in protest at the continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The US president responded on social media, saying: “You close it and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your fucking country.”What impact has the war had on support within Iran for the government? Saeed Shah reports that the war has triggered a rare moment of solidarity in a country that was reeling from the killing of thousands of protesters by the authorities at the start of the year.Why has Starmer stood down? After months of internal party pressure and plunging poll numbers, his downfall has been triggered by key political misjudgments including appointing the Jeffery Epstein-linked Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite a failed security vetting. Policy reversals have led to his MPs viewing him as weak, a sentiment reinforced by devastating losses in the May elections that underscored his deep unpopularity with voters. Continue reading...
Negotiations due to continue for rest of week in Switzerland after tense start as Iranians protest against threat from Donald TrumpIran hails ‘progress’ as first day of talks with US conclude after shaky startThe first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran ended in Switzerland on Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran saying it had again closed the strait of Hormuz and Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran.Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said Washington and Tehran agreed to a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days and that technical talks would continue for the rest of the week in the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock.The talks had a tense start, with Iranian negotiators walking out in protest against Trump’s threats. Iranian state media said the talks had entered a “difficult phase” and recessed after the “publication of an insulting message by the US president”. But high-level negotiations continued before concluding in the early hours of Monday, with Pakistan and Qatar saying technical talks between the two sides would continue for the rest of the week.After Trump’s threats became public, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the room where talks were held, though messages were still being traded via Pakistani and Qatari mediators, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media his country had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran. The US did not immediately comment on the claims.Iran said at the weekend that it had again stopped maritime traffic through the Hormuz strait, in response to continuing fighting in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, and that Sunday’s talks would not cover substantive issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.In Switzerland, US vice-president JD Vance played down the impact of the violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made towards ending hostilities there. “These things are always a little bit messy,” said Vance, leading the American delegation.In the US, Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran if it did not rein in its allies. “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media, apparently referring to Hezbollah. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”Despite Trump’s threats, Vance told reporters the US president had “asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran”.Five vessels passed the strait on Sunday, a sharp drop from the 26 ships spotted a day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. The data may exclude vessels that switch off their transponders while travelling in the Gulf.Sunday appeared to be the quietest day in Lebanon for some time, with no reports of major violence by nightfall, after two days of heavy Israeli strikes, which killed many people including civilians, and fire from Hezbollah fighters on Israeli positions. Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon on Sunday saw some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum of understanding was signed, with residents returning to their homes, some waving Hezbollah flags.With news agencies Continue reading...
• Amazon has decided to drop "Artificial," a film directed by Luca Guadagnino centered on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
• The decision comes as a surprise to the industry because the movie reportedly received positive feedback during test screenings.
• This move highlights the volatility of high-profile biographical projects and the challenges of distributing controversial tech-centric narratives.
Outbreak of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has forced mediators to cancel US-Iran peace talks in SwitzerlandIsraeli strikes on southern Lebanon have killed at least 16 people, local authorities said on Saturday, despite reports of a renewed ceasefire aiming to end persistent violence that threatens the new agreement between the US and Iran.Lebanon’s civil defence agency said its personnel transported “16 dead and 12 wounded” to hospital, adding that they had been working “since the early morning hours” in the Nabatieh district in response to “ongoing attacks targeting the area”. Continue reading...
• The Sensex and Nifty are expected to open with a sharp gap-down on Friday after the GIFT Nifty dropped 200 points.
• This downward trend follows a strong five-session market rally, suggesting that investors are engaging in profit booking despite positive cues from US and Asian markets.
• Market sentiment remains cautious as domestic traders focus on Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) flows to determine the next direction.
Wealth tax criticized by billionaires and Gavin Newsom would levy a one-time 5% tax on residents worth over $1bnA controversial proposal in California to issue a wealth tax on billionaires has gained enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in November, state officials announced on Wednesday.The news is set to intensify an already heated debate around the tax, which has pitted tech moguls and the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, against the labor unions backing the measure. Continue reading...
Filming in Las Vegas was suspended and Cain replaced as presenter after he appeared to be drunk, sources sayBBC presenter Ashley Cain called women ‘slags’, ‘sluts’ and ‘bitches’Warning: this article contains sexually explicit, offensive languageThe BBC made a second documentary series fronted by the presenter Ashley Cain just months after it was informed about an incident of alleged misconduct on a separate production in Las Vegas, which caused filming to be suspended and another presenter flown out at short notice to replace him.The BBC’s decision to hire Cain, and promote him as a rare talent who could appeal to young men, is under scrutiny after the Guardian revealed his history of highly offensive and misogynistic social media posts, including jokes about hitting women and degrading sexual practices. Continue reading...
YouGov survey of six countries shows respondents think crime is increasing – though most trust their national police Western Europeans believe crime is rising in their country, according to a survey, despite long-term overall crime rates falling across the region since the mid-1990s.The YouGov poll of Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain found most countries trusted their national police, led by Denmark where 74% of respondents said they had a lot or a fair amount of confidence in police nationally. Continue reading...
Two-thirds of Americans say they are worried about climate but level of media coverage does not reflect thisUS political and media discourse has drifted away from the climate crisis amid a frontal assault by Donald Trump upon policies to limit global heating and the president’s pugnacious demands to “drill, baby, drill” for more oil and gas.Yet while elite attention on climate has waned, even among some previously vocal Democrats who have wound back on criticism of the fossil fuels that are overheating our planet, the American public remains concerned about the climate crisis and continues to favour action to deal with it, according to experts and polling. Continue reading...
Flatlining figure confounds forecasts of an increase to 3% as Bank of England prepares to set interest ratesUK inflation unexpectedly remained at 2.8% last month despite the Middle East war driving up energy prices, official figures have shown.May’s annual price rise reading recorded by the Office for National Statistics confounded economists’ forecasts of a rise to 3%. Continue reading...
Chris Farrell was given benefit for six months despite his repeated requests for payments to stopA former unpaid carer has urged welfare officials to “get their act together” after they continued to pay him carer’s benefit for six months after the death of his husband, potentially landing him with debts of more than £1,300.Chris Farrell, 65, who claimed carer’s allowance for four years while providing full-time care for his late husband repeatedly tried to get the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to stop paying him the £86.45 a week benefit.A carer who has accumulated more than £2,000 of unwanted carer’s allowance since their mother went into a care home 10 months ago. They said they had contacted the DWP to cancel the benefit five times, by phone and online form, to no avail.A carer who found it impossible to get the DWP to stop carer’s allowance payments despite reporting over a year ago she had taken on a new work contract and was no longer eligible for the benefit. She had been overpaid more than £2,650.A man trying to manage work and care for his father, who claimed carer’s allowance for several months after being made redundant, has been unable to stop the benefit despite telling officials repeatedly he no longer needed it after finding a new job. Continue reading...
• A new report reveals that India's labour productivity gap with China has widened significantly since 2000, despite the country's strong overall GDP growth.
• India has failed to achieve the industry-led productivity transformation seen in peer nations like China and South Korea due to structural constraints and pandemic-related disruptions.
• This gap matters because it indicates that India's economic growth is not yet driven by a high-efficiency manufacturing leap, limiting its global competitiveness.
• Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar defended India's decision to continue purchasing Russian oil during a visit to Finland, rejecting Western criticism of the move.
• Jaishankar challenged global double standards by highlighting European arms sales to Pakistan while the West pressures India over its energy ties with Russia.
• He emphasized that conflicts in Ukraine and Iran create global ripple effects, destabilizing international trade networks, economies, and geopolitical security.
PM promises to fight any leadership challenge, saying any successor would face same problems as himUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has said he knows he has to “turn things around” after a series of crises culminating in the resignation of John Healey, the defence secretary, but warned that any successor would face the same set of difficult decisions.In an interview with the BBC after Healey’s departure in a row over defence spending, Starmer promised again to fight any leadership challenge from Andy Burnham or others, saying: “I’m not going to go away.” Continue reading...
