Pledge

• Brazilian President announced on Monday a comprehensive enforcement initiative targeting illegal logging and land invasions in the Amazon, deploying 5,000 additional federal agents to protected areas. • The government committed to reducing deforestation rates by 80 percent over the next two years through satellite monitoring and criminal prosecutions of organized trafficking networks. • Environmental groups and the U.S. State Department praised the pledge as a meaningful step toward climate commitments, though skeptics noted enforcement challenges in remote regions.

Soaring cost of building materials, lack of affordability and planning bottlenecks are some of the obstacles thwarting housing targetAt South and City College in Birmingham, dozens of young people clad in hi-vis vests and hard hats are building mini-walls and plastering half-formed rooms.Some weave in and out of stacks of bricks with wheelbarrows, while others use spirit levels to check the walls are straight and flat. In a few days time, these walls will be demolished and the plastering scraped away, for a new class to come in and try their hands. Continue reading...

• Filipino coast guard vessels and Chinese maritime militia engaged in a tense standoff Friday near Scarborough Shoal, with both nations claiming territorial waters; no shots were fired, but vessels came within 500 meters of each other, Filipino officials reported. • The incident involved disputed fishing rights and resource access; the Philippines detained three Chinese fishing boats accused of illegal harvesting in Manila-claimed waters, while China demanded their immediate release. • The US State Department reiterated commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines and called for peaceful resolution, warning that any military escalation in the strategic waterway threatens global trade and stability.

Prime minister tells Jewish leaders legislation against malign state actors will go before parliament in JulyKeir Starmer has promised to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards by introducing legislation in the next session of parliament in July.On a trip to Kenton united synagogue in north-west London on Thursday, the prime minister said he wanted “to make Britain a country where our Jewish community feels safe”. Continue reading...

Donors exceed funding target at Berlin conference but prospects for ceasefire remain distantMore than £1bn (€1.15bn) has been pledged for war-ravaged Sudan at a conference in Berlin, eclipsing the funding target organisers had set to help mitigate the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.The financial commitments made on Wednesday will also help offset a chronic humanitarian funding shortfall in a country devastated by three years of conflict, where two-thirds of its population – 34m people – require assistance. Continue reading...

Party says plan for ‘radical change’ will be funded in part through higher taxes on aviation, gambling and landlordsUK politics live – latest updatesThe Scottish Greens have called for free bus travel, thousands of extra teachers and doctors and a universal basic income among hundreds of uncosted manifesto pledges.The party is enjoying a bounce in Scottish opinion polls, with some putting it ahead of Labour, driven partly by the surging support for the Green party of England and Wales under the leadership of Zack Polanski. Continue reading...

Petition with 4,000 signatures decries ‘slap in the face’, saying Philz made fortune off LGBTQ+ communitySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPhilz, a popular coffee chain with locations across California, is facing growing criticism after news broke that the San Francisco-based company planned to remove Pride flags from its stores.The move is part of an effort to “[create] a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor”, Mahesh Sadarangani, the company’s CEO, said in a statement to SFGate. The company did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment. Continue reading...