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• Sweden has qualified for the World Cup via a "back-door" entry after failing to win a single match during the group stage of qualifying. • Managed by Graham Potter, the team will compete in Group F against the Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia in North America. • The squad intends to rely on a potent strikeforce featuring Premier League stars Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres to navigate the tournament.

At least seven people have died in recent days as people have tried to cool off in Britain’s waterwaysWater safety experts have warned about the dangers of outdoor swimming after a spike in drownings as people try to escape soaring temperatures by cooling off in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other bodies of water.In recent days, emergency services have reported at least seven deaths because of water-related incidents, with six involving young people, as Britain’s heatwave sends crowds of people to the seaside and other swimming spots. Continue reading...

• The UK government is facing a leadership crisis as internal pressure mounts for the current Prime Minister to resign following significant electoral losses. • Recent regional elections saw the party lose approximately 1,500 local council seats and lose control of the government in Wales. • This instability reflects a "revolving door" trend at 10 Downing Street, which has seen six Prime Ministers in the last 10 years.

• Prasar Bharati has officially withdrawn from the bidding process and legal battle at the Delhi High Court regarding the media rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. • This decision leaves Indian football fans facing a potential media blackout, as no broadcaster has secured the rights just three weeks before the tournament begins. • The exit of the state broadcaster creates a significant deadlock in broadcasting availability, leaving the streaming and television status of the event uncertain.

• India currently lacks an official broadcaster for the FIFA World Cup 2026 after Prasar Bharati exited the rights race, leaving a significant gap in coverage. • A commercial deadlock persists as FIFA's valuation for the 2026 and 2030 broadcasting packages dropped from an initial USD 100 million to approximately USD 35 million. • US-based investor Avni LLC has emerged as a surprise contender, potentially resolving the standoff between FIFA and domestic sports networks.

Banned White Australia group lodges documents with high court stating legislation ‘burdens freedom of governmental and political communication’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA neo-Nazi group, which is aiming to start a political party and was last week banned as a hate group, has launched legal action against the commonwealth that will test the constitutional validity of the prohibition.The federal government on Friday banned neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network (NSN), also known as White Australia, by listing it as a prohibited hate group under legislation passed in the wake of December’s Bondi beach terror attack. Continue reading...

Defence minister says E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft deployed to Gulf in March will join UK and France-led defensive effort to calm Iran conflictFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia will send a hi-tech military plane to join an international mission to reopen the strait of Hormuz, but the Labor government has not ruled out sending more assets to the Middle East.The defence minister, Richard Marles, joined an overnight meeting of defence ministers from 40 other countries, to discuss global efforts to reopen the key shipping channel off the Iranian coastline, which has been closed or heavily restricted since the beginning of the US-Israel assault in February. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that voting districts can no longer be drawn along racial lines under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, shifting focus to partisan considerations. • Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, the Act originally aimed to dismantle barriers for Black voters, but the decision now permits states to redraw maps based on political affiliations. • The ruling has triggered a rapid effort in several states to reconfigure electoral districts, potentially reshaping congressional representation ahead of future elections.

Lutnick has acknowledged he visited Epstein’s island with his family in 2012 after earlier claiming he severed ties in 2005Sign up for the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick will become the latest of Donald Trump’s cabinet to be questioned over ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when he sits for a closed-door transcribed interview with the Oversight Committee later today.A majority of Indiana Republican legislators whose opponents were backed by Donald Trump lost their primaries on Tuesday, giving the president wins in a deep-red state just months after lawmakers there rejected his redistricting plan. Of the seven Trump-endorsed challengers to state senate candidates, at least five won. More here.Democratic senator Sherrod Brown and Republican senator Jon Husted won their party’s nominations in Ohio’s primary elections, according to the Associated Press – teeing them up for what is expected to be a high-profile and expensive Senate race in November’s midterm elections. More here.Senate Republicans have released a new immigration enforcement funding package that includes a proposed $1bn that could go to security measures related to the $400m ballroom that is part of Donald Trump’s “East Wing modernization project”. More here.Marco Rubio argued the US is in a “very fortunate” position as fuel prices continue to climb nationwide amid disruption sparked by the US-Israel war on Iran. With average US fuel prices now approaching $4.50 a gallon – their highest level in four years – the US secretary of state was asked on Tuesday how long Americans should accept them at such levels. Other countries were suffering “big time”, Rubio replied. More here.Seven of the leading contenders in California’s unexpectedly dramatic race for governor faced off on the debate stage Tuesday night, with the stakes now higher because ballots are in the mail. Becerra was a top target, as expected, given his steady rise in the polls. More here. Continue reading...

Former US ambassador and Labour peer joins a long line of people who have gone out to meet awaiting paparazzi head-onFor a man at the centre of a storm that has rocked the political establishment, Peter Mandelson has spent the week looking remarkably relaxed. Day after day, as MPs have grilled civil servants over who knew what when about the former US ambassador’s security vetting, and police continue to investigate serious allegations over his own conduct, Mandelson has stepped out of his Regent’s Park mansion and pottered across the road to take his dog for a walk.Smart-casually dressed in jeans and a jumper and holding in front of him a plastic ball-thrower, he has set off for the park like a weekending solicitor on his way to an egg and spoon race. There have been occasional small smiles for the photographers at his gate, but no comment. The message appears to be: I am insouciant, normal. Not in prison. Continue reading...

Sabrina Crawford among those refused because of rule change, which now also affects children of immigrants born in ItalyIn 2025, after a long and arduous journey in her attempts to gain Italian citizenship, including a pivotal genealogical research trip to a village in Calabria, US-born Sabrina Crawford was hoping to fulfil her lifelong dream of building a life in Italy as she edged towards the final hurdle of the bureaucratic process.But her plans were scuppered when Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government enacted a law stopping access to Italian citizenship via distant ancestry. Since May last year, only those with a parent or grandparent who was an Italian citizen at birth, and who did not take on dual nationality, are eligible to apply. Continue reading...

Order to speed hallucinogen research hailed as ‘threshold moment’ but concerns remain over access and protectionsThe scene seemed so far-fetched you could be forgiven for thinking you might be hallucinating.On the weekend in which psychonauts celebrate “Bicycle Day” – the anniversary of the first LSD trip – Donald Trump was in the Oval Office double-checking that he was correctly pronouncing the name of a lesser-known psychedelic, ibogaine, as he signed a landmark executive order to accelerate research into hallucinogens, and to increase access. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents released to campaign group 38 Degrees reveal UK officials briefed on possibility of altering food standardsBritish officials were briefed on the possibility of allowing chemical-washed chicken into the UK before a meeting with the US embassy, new documents reveal.The Food Standards Agency is also looking at studies performed in the US on washing chicken with bacteriophages, including chlorine dioxide, to remove pathogens, according to the documents, released to the campaign group 38 Degrees under freedom of information laws. Continue reading...

Food delivery services say the proposed laws will affect their workers, while shared e-vehicle schemes claim the laws could make them uninsurableFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLegislation that would crack down on ebikes and e-scooters in Queensland could curtail food delivery services and potentially end shared e-vehicle schemes, industry figures warn.The proposed laws would set an age limit of 16 on ebikes and e-scooters, require users to obtain a driver’s licence, and set a limit of 10km/h on almost all cycle lanes. Continue reading...

Massachusetts liberal arts college laments ‘heartbreaking reality’ and says financial pressures to blameA Massachusetts liberal arts college is set to close permanently due to low enrollment and financial problems.The board of trustees of Hampshire College, a small liberal arts school in Amherst founded in 1965, pointed to “financial pressures” that have been “compounded by shifting external factors”. Continue reading...

Sharon Simmons, photographed delivering McDonald’s to Trump on Monday, lobbied for the ‘no tax on tips’ policy in 2025Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe DoorDash delivery driver who had a turn in the national spotlight on Monday by bringing a fast-food order to Donald Trump at the White House has publicly touted the president’s so-called “no tax on tips” policy before – causing some to question the encounter’s authenticity and the company to confirm it was a stunt.Sharon Simmons had lobbied in July 2025 in favor of the policy, which DoorDash supports, testifying in Congress that she was based in Nevada and driving for the delivery platform because her husband’s cancer treatments had made it difficult to make ends meet otherwise. Continue reading...

Milpitas approves measure to distribute smart doorbells and says residents can upload footage to police databaseA Silicon Valley city will offer its residents free wireless doorbells equipped with cameras to help police collect video evidence.The city council of Milpitas, a suburb north of San Jose, California, recently approved $60,000 to provide these devices on a one-camera-per-household, first-come, first-served basis, as was first reported by Milpitas Beat and confirmed by the Guardian. Continue reading...

New measures will protect Tata and British Steel but allow foreign pre-made parts into the UK, say industry bossesSteel bosses have warned ministers that a “back door” in new trade rules could hit British manufacturers and lead to job cuts and factory closures by allowing a vast array of foreign products to still enter the UK tax-free.The loophole means pre-made steel parts ranging from bridge sections, columns and door frames, all the way to smaller rods and tubes used in buildings, will escape recently announced import tariffs, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

17-year-old took time off high school to win goldBeats Belgium’s Eliott Crestan by 0.14 secondsUS teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus made history on Sunday when he won gold in the 800m to becomes the youngest ever champion at the world indoor athletics championship.The 17-year-old, who took time off from his classes at Northwest High School in Texas to compete at the championships, won gold with a time of 1min, 44.24sec, 0.14 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Eliott Crestan. Mohamed Attaoui of Spain won bronze. Continue reading...