Welcome

• Governor Gavin Newsom hosted the first public preview of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a new addition to the California Science Center. • The facility is designed to honor California's history of aviation and space exploration, highlighting the contributions of engineers, astronauts, and scientists. • The center aims to foster curiosity and learning for future generations by showcasing the state's commitment to science and innovation.

• On June 26, 2026, reviews and netizen verdicts were released for the comedy film "Welcome to the Jungle," starring Akshay Kumar and over 30 other actors. • The film's release is part of a broader trend of high-budget ensemble comedies within the $2.83 trillion global entertainment industry. • This coverage matters as it gauges the commercial viability and audience reception of a major star-studded production.

• Governor Gavin Newsom hosted the first public preview of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a new addition to the California Science Center. • The facility is designed to showcase California's history of aviation and space exploration, highlighting the contributions of local engineers, astronauts, and scientists. • This expansion underscores the state's commitment to science, education, and innovation by providing an immersive learning environment for future generations.

• The UN human rights chief formally praised a new peace treaty signed between the United States and Iran on June 13, 2026. • The accord aims to resolve decades of conflict between the two nations and serves as a critical step toward establishing broader regional stability. • This diplomatic breakthrough is significant as it signals a mutual intention to settle long-standing differences and move forward in peace.

Analysts say lengthy, painstaking negotiations over region’s root tensions are required to make ceasefire stickMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn much of the Middle East, news that the US and Iran had come to a fragile agreement was greeted with relief tempered with doubt that any deal would resolve the turbulent region’s deep problems or even prevent a future return to war.In Kuwait, a frequent target of Iranian drone strikes during the 15-week conflict, Iyad Joumma, a 37-year-old Jordanian engineer, spoke for many. Continue reading...

Artan deemed a threat to national security by US officials‘I promise you that I will attend the next one’The World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the US arrived on Wednesday in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where he was received by a crowd of supporters and officials.Omar Artan was due to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making Fifa’s final list for the tournament. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025. Continue reading...

Royal Kennel Club figures show significant declines in registrations of French bulldogs, bulldogs and pugsSquashed-face dogs including pugs and French bulldogs are declining in popularity, data suggests, with experts hopeful the trend reflects a growing awareness of the health problems such breeds face.According to breed registration statistics from the UK’s Royal Kennel Club (RKC), there were 1,400 registrations of French bulldogs in the first three months of 2026 – a 37% drop compared with the same period in 2025. Bulldog registrations dropped by 34% and pug registrations by 43% with only 126 of the breed registered in the first three months of 2026. Continue reading...

• South Korea experienced a significant tourism boom in April, with Seoul alone welcoming over 1.5 million foreign visitors. • China emerged as the primary driver of this surge, leading other major contributing markets including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. • The influx of tourists resulted in a massive economic boost, with total visitor spending soaring to 1.15 trillion won.

• Hungary has officially decided to remain a State Party to the Rome Statute, withdrawing its previous notification to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC). • The decision was formally communicated by the Hungarian Government to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on May 29, 2026, following a statement from the Assembly of States Parties on May 25, 2026. • This move is significant as it signals Hungary's renewed commitment to ending impunity for the most serious international crimes.

• The Taliban administration has officially welcomed China's expanded role in managing Afghanistan-related discussions and draft resolutions at the United Nations. • This diplomatic shift indicates a growing reliance on Beijing to mediate Afghanistan's international standing and navigate complex UN processes. • The move is significant as it signals a strategic pivot toward China for legitimacy and political support amidst ongoing global isolation.

There is hope that a change to building regulations could resurrect music clubs, which have been hit by rising rents, social shifts and noise disputesA move by the German government to reclassify nightclubs to distinguish them from amusement and adult entertainment facilities could give a much-needed boost to the country’s struggling nightlife, industry advocates say.Under a fundamental change to building regulations approved by Friedrich Merz’s cabinet last week, nightclubs will be formally recognised as providing cultural and artistic value, making it more difficult for developers to evict venue operators in favour of new construction. Continue reading...

Choreography of back-to-back visits appeared deliberately mirrored but China made sure the differences were noticedDays after Donald Trump was greeted in Beijing with a military band, an honour guard and dozens of youths waving American and Chinese flags, Vladimir Putin arrived in China to an almost identical spectacle.The choreography of the two welcomes appeared deliberately mirrored, designed to showcase Beijing’s ability to host leaders from Washington and Moscow with equal grandeur. Continue reading...

China’s deep relationship with Russia remains a continuing cause for concern in the west, particularly since Moscow launched its invasion of UkraineXi Jinping and Vladimir Putin exchanged “congratulatory letters” on Sunday ahead of the Russian president’s visit to Beijing this week, four days since Donald Trump left China after a high-stakes summit.Xi, China’s leader, said bilateral cooperation between Russia and China had “continuously deepened and solidified”, with this year marking the 30th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership, according to Chinese state media. Continue reading...

‘We know that Mark Carney wants to sort of embrace Europe,’ says competition director Martin GreenCanada is welcome to join Eurovision if it wishes, its director has said, months after the country revealed it wanted to “explore” joining the song contest in its federal budget.Eurovision director Martin Green told the BBC on Wednesday that Canada hadn’t yet applied, but would be welcome to. Continue reading...

Record-breaker says London Marathon win was ‘a victory for all of us’ as he is greeted by family and friends in EldoretHugged, cheered and adorned with garlands, the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours has returned as a hero to his home village in Kenya.Sabastian Sawe, who stunned the world when he clocked 1h 59m 30s in the London Marathon last weekend, flew in a Kenyan military plane normally reserved for special operations on Thursday to his home region of western Kenya. Continue reading...

Elusive nightingale ‘doing well’ at Northward Hill, Kent, but experts cite concerns around loss of habitatThe dawn chorus at RSPB Northward Hill in Kent is a riot of sound: the melodic robin, the two-tone cuckoo, the whitethroat’s scratchy warble. Even the garbling geese and mooing cows from the neighbouring Thames marshes add to the symphony.But in late April one energetic singer hogs the limelight. For a few weeks after arriving from West Africa, the nightingale spends the night – and early morning – in complex song. As it searches for a mate and marks its territory, its song is at times as sweet and tuneful as a soul singer, at others as frantic as a car alarm. Continue reading...

US president says Americans ‘have had no closer friends than the British’ amid recent tensions between both nationsDonald Trump has praised the “special relationship” between the US and the UK, as he hosted a ceremonial military welcome for Charles and Camilla at the White House.Against a backdrop of recent tensions between London and Washington, the US president, speaking on the second day of King Charles’s state visit, said: “In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British.” Continue reading...

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in the United States on Monday afternoon for a four-day trip, welcomed by self-proclaimed royal fan U.S. President Donald Trump even as the U.S. president ‌has ‌differed with the British government over the Iran war.

Club chief says ‘anodyne acknowledgements’ can be ‘overworked’. Follow today’s news liveGet 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 will be Nick Visser with the main action.The RSL has announced it will review its guidance on welcome to country addresses at Anzac Day services after Indigenous leaders were booed at three dawn services on Saturday. Continue reading...

Booing by right-wing groups of Indigenous leaders giving speeches marred Anzac Day ceremonies for a second year runningGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn anti-immigration group asked followers how loud they would be booing welcome to country ceremonies at Anzac Day dawn services before multiple events were disrupted on Saturday. But the group has denied orchestrating a campaign, despite doubling down on its criticism of what it called “woke rituals”.Booing by right-wing groups of Indigenous elders giving welcome to country speeches marred Anzac Day ceremonies for a second year running, and sparked another public debate about their role at public events. Uncle Ray Minniecon, who served in the armed forces nd was booed while giving a welcome at Sydney’s dawn service, said the mocking was “unexpected and unnecessary, but it happens”. Continue reading...

Suspect in Saturday evening’s shooting – Cole Tomas Allen – expected to be formally charged in court todayGood morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.The suspected gunman in the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, from Torrance, California, is due to appear in court later today.He is expected to be formally charged with using a firearm during a violent crime and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. Continue reading...

Housing secretary also targets Reform as May elections loom, saying Farage more interested in Trump than own constituencyThe Greens have welcomed activists kicked out of Labour for antisemitic views and people should be “very careful” who they vote for next month, one of Keir Starmer’s most senior ministers has said in a notable stepping-up of attacks on Zack Polanski’s party.In a double-pronged attack on the two parties expected to make big gains in the elections on 7 May, Steve Reed also accused Nigel Farage of being more interested in talking to Donald Trump then representing his Clacton constituency. Continue reading...

Astronauts make first remarks at jubilant homecoming in Houston after their record-breaking moon flybyStill marveling over their moon mission, the Artemis II astronauts received a thunderous welcome home on Saturday from hundreds who took part in setting a record for deep space travel during the US space agency Nasa’s lunar comeback.The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near Nasa’s Johnson Space Center and Mission Control in Houston, flying in from San Diego, where they splashed down just offshore the evening before. Continue reading...

Texas city believes loose rules and low taxes will make the US’s biggest banks come running – can it pull it off?As the warm sun rises over the Dallas skyline, SUVs and pickup trucks whiz past an unassuming construction site that is helping cement the city’s Texas-sized financial ambitions.Nestled between towers claimed by Bank of America and JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs has cordoned off 800,000 sq ft for a new Dallas campus able to host more than 5,000 staff. But the $700m (£530m) project is more than a regional expansion plan by one of America’s largest banks. It is another win for the lobbyists behind Dallas’s “Y’all Street” – the Texan city’s aggressive push to steal New York’s financial crown. Continue reading...

• Actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively announced birth of third child Olin on April 9 via Instagram, joining James and Inez. • Delivery occurred at New York hospital last week; couple shared family photo with caption 'Our little darlin'.' • This adds to their $200 million combined net worth, fueling speculation on Deadpool 4 family cameos.

Announcement of deal met with relief, and calls for strait of Hormuz to be reopened and permanent end to hostilities US and Iran agree to provisional ceasefireMiddle East crisis – live updatesEuropean leaders have welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire deal, while calling for the reopening of the strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to hostilities, including in Lebanon.The US and Iran agreed a two-week conditional ceasefire on Tuesday, including a temporary reopening of the strait of Hormuz, after last-minute diplomacy from Pakistan. The Israeli military said on Wednesday, however, that it was continuing “fighting and ground operations” in its war against the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, despite a statement from mediator Pakistan that Lebanon was included in the ceasefire. Continue reading...

PM to meet partners in region to discuss effort to ‘support and sustain ceasefire’ and reopening the strait of HormuzSarah Jones, the policing minister, has been giving interviews. She has been talking about Keir Starmer’s visit to the Gulf, but hasn’t said anything that really adds to the (rather limited) information about the visit put out by Downing Street.Jones told Times Radio:[Starmer] is going to the Gulf for a number of reasons. Firstly you will have seen last week with the foreign secretary, and this week with our officials, where we have played a real leading role bringing together about 40 countries looking at the challenge that we have in the strait [of Hormuz] and how we can make sure that opens up as quickly as possible to bring some normality back to that system. so there will be that aspect.He wants to see the work of our brave personnel who are there in the region, of course, with our three very key principles of protecting British interests and protecting British citizens and our allies. He will want to see the work of that. Continue reading...

President dismisses concerns that bombing civilian targets would punish ordinary people and could constitute war crimesDonald Trump on Monday claimed that Iranian civilians are actively welcoming US strikes on their country’s infrastructure, saying they would be “willing to suffer” the loss of power and basic services in order to achieve freedom from the Islamic Republic.Speaking to reporters from the White House press room, Trump dismissed concerns that targeting Iran’s power grid and civilian infrastructure would punish ordinary Iranians rather than the regime, saying without evidence US intelligence had intercepts of civilians near active bombing sites urging American forces to continue. Continue reading...