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• Reliance Industries is holding its 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM), with a primary focus on the much-anticipated IPO filing for Jio with SEBI. • The company aims to disrupt AI economics through "Reliance Intelligence," while also providing updates on its new energy projects and future strategic roadmap. • Key leadership roles will be highlighted, with Akash Ambani discussing Jio, Isha Ambani covering Reliance Retail Ventures, and Anant Ambani detailing the energy business.

It follows a similar move at the G7 earlier this week, where leaders calling on Russia to engage with the peace processNot many other leaders showed up to offer doorstep comments this morning – and can you really blame them, after they had just a few hours of sleep?But Ireland’s Micheál Martin popped in to tell reporters that “it’s imperative that we continue to make progress” on this budget.“There’s some distance to go yet before, before we get there [to negotiations], but opening up channels, in my view, given our own experience in conflict resolution, is not something that we would criticise or be negative about.” Continue reading...

IDF claims continuing strikes come after Iran-backed group repeatedly violated ceasefire; JD Vance cancels trip as US-Iran talks set for Friday cancelledUS-Iran talks in Switzerland abruptly called offJD Vance tells Iran deal critics in Israel: Trump is your only ally left in the worldWelcome to our continuing live coverage of events in the Middle East.Israel’s military says it is attacking Hezbollah in several areas across southern Lebanon and has been striking throughout Thursday night.Vance lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran deal, saying Donald Trump was Israel’s only ally left in the world, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in defence aid ⁠the country receives from America. Trump “is the only head of state in the entire world ‌who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this ‌moment in time”, Vance told reporters.Trump said the ​US expected “a ⁠complete ceasefire on all fronts, including ⁠Lebanon, Hezbollah ​and Israel”, adding in a social media post: “We ‌encourage everyone ‌in the ‌Middle East Region to maintain their commitment to allowing our negotiations ‌to beautifully unfold.”Iran’s supreme leader said he approved the deal with the US despite having a “different view”, without elaborating. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in message read on state television: “In principle, I had a different view [about the memorandum of understanding], but I issued my permission due to the commitment that the honourable [Iranian] president, as the chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, gave me on behalf of himself and other members to protect the rights of the Iranian nation and the resistance front.”In Khamenei’s message on Thursday – his first reaction to the Iran-US deal – he claimed Trump had “used all kinds of levers” to secure the deal “out of desperation”. The US president has claimed the agreement is a victory for Washington and averts a “worldwide depression”.Iran announced plans to introduce a system of maritime fees in the strait of Hormuz after the 60-day period of negotiation triggered by the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the US. Tehran, claiming a historic victory over the US, said the strait was under its control and a European plan for a naval mission to escort ships though the vital waterway would not be welcome, reports Patrick Wintour.Vance said the 60-day period in which to reach a final agreement with Iran started on Thursday. That would set a deadline for the final agreement between Iran and the US as 17 August.US Central Command ended its blockade in the Hormuz strait, it announced on social media. The US naval blockade of the strait had been in effect since 13 April, with control of the waterway being a key point of conflict in the war. Marine Traffic data showed that at least seven ships had crossed the strait on Thursday.The US would restart military action and ⁠reimpose a ⁠blockade ​against Iran if it did not fulfil its commitments ⁠under the signed agreement, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said at a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels.Khamenei said in his message that he received assurances from Pezeshkian about the deal and that it would not be accepted “if the American side wants to make excessive demands”. “It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s point of view,” he added.Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the agreement’s signing ceremony in Switzerland, which was due to take place on Friday, was cancelled as it is understood that the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran has already been signed remotely.EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she was representing the bloc’s position on the Middle East, after Israel announced it was severing diplomatic relations over allegations she had compared the country to apartheid South Africa. Continue reading...

• Bangladesh defeated Pakistan in the 2nd Test match of Pakistan's 2026 tour of Bangladesh. • Bangladesh posted scores of 278 and 390, while Pakistan managed 232 and 358 in their respective innings. • The result highlights Bangladesh's dominance in the series, securing a victory through superior batting and bowling performances.

• Mexico and South Korea are facing off in the second round of Group A and Group B fixtures during the World Cup. • With only 14 minutes of normal time remaining, one of the teams is positioned to secure their first victory of the tournament. • This match is critical as teams compete for points to advance beyond the group stage.

• On June 19, 2026, President Trump signed a new peace deal between the United States and Iran to stabilize international relations. • Tehran responded to the agreement by warning that the cost of violating the deal will be significantly higher now than in previous iterations. • This development is critical as it attempts to resolve long-standing geopolitical tensions and economic sanctions between the two nations.

Musical stars and retired politicians from less polarised era seeming antidote to cage fights on White House lawnThe Barack Obama presidential center opened in Chicago on Thursday after more than a decade in the making amid a musical fanfare and paeans to democratic principles that evoked a previous age, all while delivering an implied rebuke to Donald Trump.Featuring appearances by a cast of musical stars and retired politicians from a less polarised era, it was a seemingly perfect antidote to the crass spectacle of cage fights on the White House lawn. Continue reading...

Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor hopes a win over Reform UK will help force the prime minister to step asideGood evening, and welcome to the Guardian’s Makerfield byelection live blog. The polls have just closed and we may have to wait until around dawn (quite early in the summer, of course) until we get a result. But, as the votes are counted, it should become clear well before then who is going to win. Andy Burnham, the Labour former cabinet minister, current mayor of Greater Manchester, and potential future prime minister, is widely expected to be the new MP, but at this point no one knows for sure.Here is our latest story about what has been happening today, and what may unfold in the hours to come.At the time of going to print, Op Makerfield is not a totally done deal. Two of Burnham’s top team parrot the same line: ‘It’s closer than you think.’ But those advising the Manchester mayor think the scale of any win will determine the speed of events. ‘If he wins by low single digits, Keir Starmer digs in and says: “You can’t come for me until after the Manchester mayoral election on 30 July,” and it’s bloody trench warfare,’ one says. ‘If it’s a comfortable, single-digits win, the soft left will try to take power through a conversation, but they will probably discover that power has to be taken by force. If Andy gets more than Reform plus Restore combined, start the clock. There will be an avalanche.’ Continue reading...

Two payments of $50m will boost Ukraine’s air defence and munitions supply. Follow today’s news live• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.Jim Chalmers has defended the government’s changes to its controversial capital gains tax reforms and rejected claims it amounted to a backflip forced by business interests. More follows soon. Continue reading...

• Canada's men's national team will face Qatar in Vancouver on Thursday for their second World Cup group stage match, with star player Alphonso Davies available. • The tournament officially began on June 12, and Canada is currently seeking its first victory of the competition. • In a separate incident, an Ivory Coast player was reportedly denied entry into Canada due to an ongoing investigation into betting.