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Buildings collapse after double quakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude. Plus, the apartment renters facing a tide of feesGood morning.Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has declared a state of emergency after the country was struck by two powerful earthquakes that collapsed dozens of buildings, killing at least 164 people and injuring 971 more, with experts predicting the death toll could rise still further.What do we know? The US Geological Survey (USGS) said Venezuela had been hit by two quakes: a magnitude 7.5 “mainshock” and a 7.2 “foreshock” 39 seconds earlier. “High casualties and extensive damage ⁠are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” ⁠the USGS said.How does the damage look on the ground? Rodríguez, who confirmed the death toll, said the airport had been closed after sustaining “severe damage” and added that the metro and train systems had been halted. A Guardian reporter saw at least three buildings that had collapsed in Altamira, an upmarket area of Caracas that is home to many foreign embassies, after the quakes hit shortly after 6pm on Wednesday.This is what the company said: In a statement, Greystar told the Guardian it disagreed with the allegations in the court actions and was “actively defending” the cases. In various court filings, the company has called tenants’ legal complaints factually deficient, implausible and “futile”.In other housing news: Donald Trump abruptly cancelled his plan to sign a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the cost of housing on Wednesday, holding the bill – which passed both the House and Senate – hostage until Congress passes the Save America Act, which would impose new identification requirements on voters and curtail mail-in voting. Continue reading...

Homes and buildings collapse in first magnitude 7.1 earthquake, with tremors felt in neighbouring ColombiaA strong earthquake shook north-central Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon, west ⁠of Caracas, with residents in neighbouring Colombia also reporting feeling tremors.The earthquake registered at ⁠a magnitude 7.1 ⁠in ​Venezuela, about an hour west of the city Valencia at a depth of 13km (8 miles), according to the ⁠US Geological Survey. Continue reading...

• Relativity Space announced plans in June 2026 to privately build and launch a Mars orbiter by 2028. • The mission will carry NASA's Aeolus atmospheric instruments and serve as a communications relay, funded by an unnamed philanthropic donor. • The announcement comes despite the company's poor track record, as its only rocket flight in March 2023 failed to reach orbit due to a second-stage engine failure.

• Shares of Lam Research and Applied Materials surged during the afternoon trading session following news of geopolitical easing. • The stock jump occurred after President Trump canceled planned military strikes on Iran and indicated that a peace deal could be reached over the weekend. • While Applied Materials saw a significant spike, analysts note the company's high volatility, with 27 moves exceeding 5% over the past year.

Carlos ‘Indio’ Solari, virtually unknown elsewhere but said to be Argentina’s most popular musician, inspired cross-generational devotionThe line stretched for more than 7km (four miles). Mourners sang rock songs, waved banners, and carried speakers blasting music while smoke rose from makeshift barbecues and vendors sold T-shirts bearing the image of a bald man with sunglasses.As evening fell, a drizzle set in, but the queue remained. At the end of the line in Avellaneda, outer Buenos Aires, stood a chapel containing the body of a rock star. Continue reading...

Marine Rescue NSW volunteer coaxes distressed dog on to jetski after it paddled to Snapper Island in Batemans BayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOn Monday, radio operators in Batemans Bay along the New South Wales south coast got a call they hadn’t had before: a dog had been swept off the rocks and was in the ocean in distress.Rod Ingamells, the unit commander of the local Marine Rescue NSW team, was one of the first to hop in a rescue vessel. But by the time his team reached the area, the dog had swum nearly 800 metres across the bay to nearby Snapper Island. Continue reading...

Scientific dating proves streaks on walls of Bacon Hole, near the Mumbles in south Wales, is Palaeolithic rock artIn 1912, the Guardian reported on the discovery of Palaeolithic rock art on the walls of Bacon Hole, a cave near the Mumbles in south Wales – only for the painted panel’s authenticity to be dismissed by 1928.A series of horizontal bands in red pigment were subsequently deemed no more than a natural phenomenon and the newspaper added an updated statement: “It was later established that the red streaks … turned out to be red oxide mineral seeping through the rock and not prehistoric art.” Continue reading...

• SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 29. • The Starlink 10-53 mission was executed just hours after a reported explosion involving a Blue Origin vehicle. • This launch demonstrates SpaceX's operational reliability and rapid cadence in deploying Starlink satellites despite industry setbacks.

• Dimension Market Research reports that the Agentic AI security market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 36.2%, reaching USD 888 billion by 2035. • This surge is driven by the proliferation of multi-agent systems and non-human identities, which are creating a new cybersecurity category as traditional security measures fail to keep pace. • The United States is expected to be a primary driver of this growth, with its domestic market alone forecasted to reach USD 247.5 billion by 2035.

• The Supreme Court of India upheld the constitutional and legal validity of the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. • A bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi dismissed petitions that challenged the legality of the exercise. • The court ruled that the ECI possesses full authority to conduct the SIR under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

A day after ICE officials pepper-spray senator, tensions ramp up outside facility on fifth day of hunger and labor strikeChaos breaks out at New Jersey immigration detention center – in picturesProtests against immigration enforcement at a facility where detainees are on a hunger and labor strike erupted in fresh violence on Tuesday night as federal officers sprayed chemicals and charged demonstrators outside the jail in New Jersey.Following hours of relative quiet, a day after masked and armored Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel pepper-sprayed US senator Andy Kim, tension ramped up again outside the Delaney Hall facility on the fifth day of the strike. Continue reading...

Igor Lytvynchuk is scheduled to appear in court on charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animalSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe lawyer for a tourist accused of hurling a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal says his client was trying to protect sea turtles and has since been assaulted, threatened and doxed.Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is scheduled to appear in court in Honolulu on Wednesday on charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal. Continue reading...

The heritage site was destroyed by contractors building transmission lines for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zoneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIndigenous community members have described their shock and anger after an Aboriginal rock shelter was “damaged beyond recovery” by contractors building transmission lines for a New South Wales renewable energy zone.The heritage site was destroyed by bulldozers in March during the construction of access tracks for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone, a transmission line project located about 300km north-west of Sydney. Continue reading...

• Rock frontman Shomo has publicly come out as a "proudly gay man" via an Instagram post. • The announcement follows the end of his marriage, which lasted nearly 14 years. • Shomo revealed that he spent a decade attempting to suppress his feelings through the use of alcohol.

The actor, who played Tracy Jordan’s gentle bodyguard in 80 episodes of the beloved comedy, died in his sleep after years of health problemsGrizz Chapman, best known for his role as Grizz on the hit comedy 30 Rock, has died aged 52.His cousin, the Harlem Globetrotter Donte Harrison, confirmed Chapman’s death on social media on Saturday. Continue reading...

Boys, aged 15, given youth rehabilitation orders for two separate attacks against two girls in Hampshire A judge’s decision not to jail two teenage boys who raped two girls has been described by one of the victims as a “rock straight in my face”.A trial at Southampton crown court heard the girls were raped in two separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, the first attack on 26 November 2024 and the second on 17 January 2025. Continue reading...

The launch is the 12th test flight of the mega-rocket that CEO Elon Musk is building to get people to Mars one daySpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.The redesigned mega-rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world. Continue reading...

White House reportedly forced Gabbard to resign after being sidelined from Iran and Venezuela operations and becomes fourth woman to depart Trump’s cabinetUS politics - live updatesSign up for the Breaking News US emailTulsi Gabbard is leaving her post as US director of national intelligence following a tumultuous stint in which she was largely sidelined as Donald Trump launched attacks on Venezuela and Iran.In a letter to the US president, she said she would resign and leave her post on 30 June. “While we have made significant progress ... I recognize there is still important work to be done,” she wrote. Continue reading...

• On May 21, 2026, DoubleRock Managing Partner Suraj Rajwani identified the primary innovation trends currently driving Silicon Valley's venture capital landscape. • The analysis highlights a strategic shift in investor priorities toward AI infrastructure, cybersecurity resilience, and advanced healthcare technology. • This pivot reflects DoubleRock's expanded focus on integrating AI with health-tech to address critical systemic vulnerabilities and improve delivery.

Clashes between demonstrators and police in La Paz have entered second week, shaking centre-right presidentProtests blocking roads across Bolivia and turning the centre of the capital, La Paz, into a battleground between demonstrators and police have entered a second week.It is the most turbulent moment of the centre-right president Rodrigo Paz Pereira’s mere six months in office since he ended nearly two decades of rule by the leftwing Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas). Continue reading...

All Her Lives is only the fifth short story collection to win the prestigious NZ$65,000 prize in 58 yearsFirst-time fiction writer Ingrid Horrocks has won New Zealand’s richest literary prize for her debut short story collection, All Her Lives.The Wellington-based poet, essayist and memoirist won the prestigious NZ$65,000 (A$53,000, £28,500) Jann Medlicott Acorn prize for fiction at the 2026 Ockham New Zealand book awards on Wednesday night. The book follows nine women across nine different life stages and generations, as they navigate politics, gender and motherhood. Continue reading...

Richard Werstine, wanted in connection with killing of Cold as Life vocalist Rodney Barger, was arrested in PanamaA suspect accused of murdering his rock singer friend in 1993 has been apprehended in Central America after spending more than 30 years successfully evading authorities.According to the US marshals service, Richard Werstine, who was wanted in connection with the killing of Cold as Life vocalist Rodney Barger, was arrested in Panama. Continue reading...

• Rocket Lab has announced a five-launch commercial deal for its new Neutron medium-lift reusable rocket platform, positioning the company as a competitor in the expanding commercial space launch market. • The Neutron rocket is expected to reach operational status and conduct its first launches by the end of 2026, marking a major milestone in Rocket Lab's expansion beyond its smaller Electron vehicle. • The investment in medium-lift capability positions Rocket Lab to capture a broader range of satellite deployment missions and compete with established launch providers.

• Researchers at The Rockefeller University uncovered new clues to why hepatitis B virus infects humans but not other species, published April 22, 2026. • The study identifies key viral and host factors restricting cross-species transmission, as reported in Science News. • These insights could enable novel animal models for testing therapies, addressing a major gap in hepatitis B research.

Statue – one of city’s most popular tourist attractions – on steps of Philadelphia Museum of Art key plank of new showA statue of Sylvester Stallone’s fictional boxer Rocky Balboa is the focal point of an examination of the power of monuments opening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this weekend that marks two millennia of boxing and celebrity.The statue, placed on the “Rocky Steps” of the museum in 1982, six years after the the 1976 film Rocky made Stallone a star, is one of Philadelphia’s most popular tourist attractions, visited by an estimated 4 million people annually. Continue reading...

Diplomats poke fun at Donald Trump while Madonna loses her corset off the back of a golf buggyThe one upside to a rolling international crisis is that it can give backroom people a rare chance to shine. Witness, this week, the breakout stars of the Iranian diplomatic corps, who from two different diplomatic missoverions managed to poke fun at Donald Trump while maintaining the base-level decorum that so eludes the American president. Continue reading...

• Lakers secured a 2-0 series lead against the Houston Rockets in NBA playoffs, receiving more good news on team health amid the victory. • Updates on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves emerged ahead of Game 2, boosting LA's momentum in the Western Conference matchup. • This strengthens Lakers' position as they aim to advance deeper in the postseason.

• Brock Lesnar appeared to retire from WWE after a shocking loss to Oba Femi in under 5 minutes at WrestleMania 42 Night Two in Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium. • Femi dominated the 6'3", 286-pound Lesnar, throwing him effortlessly, leading to post-match scenes that stunned fans. • The event's opener sets a dramatic tone for WrestleMania 42, marking a potential end to Lesnar's legendary career amid injury history.