Record-breaking May warmth soon to blow away as cold front moves east

German defence minister responds to US president’s announcement that 5,000 US troops will leave bases in GermanyHello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said that it was “foreseeable” that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, after the Pentagon announced it would pull thousands of American soldiers from Germany.Trump said he is “not satisfied” with a new proposal from Iran on ending the war, as peace talks remain stalled despite a weeks-long ceasefire. Iran delivered the proposal text to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state news agency Irna reported, without detailing its contents.The US state department said it was approving military sales totalling more than $8.6bn to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It came as Washington warned European allies including the UK, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia to expect long delivery delays for US weapons as it scrambles to replenish stockpiles depleted by the Iran war, according to a report in the Fianancial Times citing multiple sources.In Lebanon, 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south, Lebanon’s health ministry said, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli army had issued an evacuation order despite the continuing ceasefire. Israeli warplanes “launched a series of heavy strikes … less than an hour after” the warning, the state-run National News Agency said.The US Treasury Office warned that any shipping companies that paid tolls to Iran for passage through the strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organisations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, would risk punitive sanctions. Tehran has proposed charging fees on vessels passing through the strait, as part of a deal to end the war.Trump wrote to US lawmakers on Friday declaring hostilities with Iran “terminated”, despite no change in the US military posture, as he faces continuing pressure at home to seek congressional authorisation for the war.The state department’s announcement on Friday included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defence replenishment services costing $4.01bn and of advanced precision kill weapon systems (APKWS) costing $992.4m. They also included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5bn and to Israel of APKWS costing $992.4m.Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic battle and “disappoint” its enemies, as the war and years of sanctions take a toll. In a written statement he also said “the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce”. Continue reading...

As a Mast of Fraternity and Memory is unveiled in Nantes, calls are growing for Macron to announce framework for discussionsIn the French port city of Nantes, once France’s largest departure point for ships that trafficked enslaved Africans across the Atlantic, a new wooden mast rises 18 metres into the sky from the waterside.The Mast of Fraternity and Memory, inaugurated this month, marks a turning point in France’s complicated relationship with the legacy of its history of enslavement – just as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, comes under pressure to make key announcements on a process of reparatory justice. Continue reading...

‘Targeted support’ means certain banks and financial institutions can offer free extra help with investments and pensionsMany Britons are daunted by the world of investing, but new City rules mean certain banks and financial institutions can offer free extra help with investments and pensions.Last month marked the launch of “targeted support”, a new regulated service that permits companies to suggest investments and pension products to customers that might provide a better return. Continue reading...

The East West Rail project linking Oxford to Milton Keynes was finished in 2024. There’s just one hitch: no servicesThe rumbling noise in the night, still enough to waken the unhabituated, is what really goads some people living in Winslow, Buckinghamshire. Freight trains running through the new station since late 2024 prove this stretch of railway is operational. But the long-promised passenger services have yet to appear – and there is no sign of any arriving soon.Welcome to East West Rail, open or not. For well over a decade, ministers have talked up a new railway linking Oxford to Cambridge via Milton Keynes to accelerate the drive for housing, jobs and growth – an arc of tech industry hailed as the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley. Continue reading...

Rural dwellers reveal failings in backup plans, as campaigners call for deadline to be extended from 2027 to 2030“Every time there is a power failure I lose all means of communication with the outside world,” says Robert Dewar of life in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands since the landlines were transferred from the old copper cable network to broadband connections.Blackouts also knock out the village’s mobile phone signal. “Our most recent power cut lasted for 42 hours,” Dewar says. The interruption outlasted his five-hour emergency backup battery. “If I had had a heart attack there is damn all I could have done about it, except compose myself, say my prayers, and await the outcome.” Continue reading...

WHO prequalification of Coartem Baby means newborns can be safely treated rather than using medication for older childrenThe first malaria treatment for babies has been approved by the World Health Organization, opening the door to widespread use around the globe.In parts of Africa, up to 18% of children under six months will be infected with malaria, but there has historically been no safe treatment for the smallest of them. There were 610,000 deaths from malaria in 2024, about three quarters of which were under-fives in Africa. Continue reading...

Staff warned news operations face 15% cut, above BBC-wide 10% target, as corporation pushes through £600m savings planThe BBC’s news operation is to cut costs by a steeper-than-expected 15%, with staff told to expect heavy redundancies.The division, home to about a quarter of all BBC staff, is being saddled with one of the highest cost-cutting targets as the corporation attempts to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest downsizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years. Continue reading...

Documentary makers seek to start ‘informed conversation’ in country where public is allowed on just 8% of landAnger and momentum are building for Scottish style rights of access to mountains, meadows, rivers and woodlands in England where the public is allowed on just 8% of land, a new documentary suggests.Our Land, a film whose title is a nod to the protest song by Woody Guthrie, explores the rise of the right to roam movement in England. Continue reading...

लोगों के लंबे समय तक जीवित रहने और कम बच्चे पैदा करने का सामाजिक और आर्थिक प्रभाव दुनिया भर के देशों पर पड़ रहा है। Adaptation ही इसकी कुंजी है। Japan में, अब ऐसी कंपनियां हैं जो उन बुजुर्ग लोगों के अपार्टमेंट की सफाई करने में विशेषज्ञता रखती हैं जिनकी अकेले मृत्यु हो गई और हफ्तों या महीनों तक जिनका पता नहीं चला, जबकि एक दशक से अधिक समय से adult incontinence pads की बिक्री nappy की बिक्री से अधिक हो गई है। Italy में, आबादी कम होने वाले गाँव नए निवासियों को आकर्षित करने और सेवाओं को चालू रखने के लिए €1 में घर बेच रहे हैं। UK में, छात्रों की घटती संख्या London के कुछ हिस्सों में स्कूलों और कक्षाओं को पहले ही बंद कर रही है। ये कोई छिटपुट घटनाएं नहीं हैं, बल्कि विकसित दुनिया के अधिकांश हिस्सों में हो रहे व्यापक बदलाव के संकेत हैं। Oxford Institute of Population Ageing की निदेशक Prof Sarah Harper ने कहा, "EU में 2024 में, 27 में से 21 देशों में जन्म की तुलना में अधिक मौतें हुईं।" पूरे Asia और Americas में भी — Japan और South Korea से लेकर Cuba और Uruguay तक — कई देश इसी तरह का पैटर्न देख रहे हैं। आगे पढ़ें...

Gurindji परिवार ‘एक जीवन इतना कीमती, जो बहुत जल्दी चला गया’ पर शोक मना रहे हैं चेतावनी: इस लेख में मृत Indigenous Australians की तस्वीरें और संदर्भ शामिल हैं Kumanjayi Baby Girl के रिश्तेदारों ने एक बयान जारी कर कहा है कि जब उन्होंने उसके लापता होने की खबर सुनी तो उन्होंने “असहाय” महसूस किया, और वे उम्मीद करते हैं कि उनका समुदाय दुख की इस घड़ी में एकजुट हो सकता है। “एक जीवन इतना कीमती, मासूमियत से भरा, जो बहुत जल्दी चला गया,” Gurindji परिवारों ने उस पांच वर्षीय Warlpiri लड़की के बारे में कहा, जो गुरुवार शाम को Alice Springs में मृत पाई गई थी – Old Timers टाउन कैंप में अपने बिस्तर से लापता होने के पांच दिन बाद। पढ़ना जारी रखें...

US के प्रतिबंध ऊर्जा, रक्षा और खनन सहित Cuba की अर्थव्यवस्था के व्यापक क्षेत्रों में काम करने वाले लोगों को लक्षित करते हैं। Cuba की सरकार ने कहा है कि Donald Trump द्वारा इस द्वीप पर लगाए गए नए प्रतिबंध “सामूहिक दंड” के समान हैं, क्योंकि Havana में American embassy के बाहर 1 May के एक विशाल जुलूस ने “मातृभूमि की रक्षा” करने की शपथ ली। शुक्रवार को एक executive order में, US राष्ट्रपति ने कहा कि वह Cuba की अर्थव्यवस्था के व्यापक क्षेत्रों में शामिल लोगों पर प्रतिबंध लगाएंगे, क्योंकि वह इस साल की शुरुआत में Venezuela के नेता Nicolás Maduro को बेदखल करने के बाद Havana पर और अधिक दबाव डालना चाहते हैं। Continue reading...