US president dismisses Iranian media reports agreement is close, despite earlier suggesting a deal could be signed this weekend

Prospects for an immediate end to the war between Iran and the US remained uncertain on Friday amid a chaotic series of conflicting claims and counter-claims by US and Iranian officials about ongoing negotiations.

Donald Trump seemed to distance himself from his earlier comments that suggested a preliminary agreement could be signed as soon as this weekend, with a series of angry social media posts describing the Iranians as “very dishonorable people to deal with”.

Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was killed while executing search warrants related to a shooting at US consulate

Authorities in Canada are investigating whether the killing of a Toronto police officer while he was executing search warrants related to a shooting at the city’s US consulate is linked a broader series of global terror attacks.

Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, a member of the emergency taskforce, was killed on Thursday during a dawn search of an apartment building in the west of the city.

Measures to include restrictions on ‘safe’ social media apps, with some fearing banning some platforms and not others will lead to legal challenges

Teenagers under the age of 16 are to be banned from accessing “high-risk” social media apps while safer platforms will be subjected to restrictions, under a sweeping government crackdown.

Under-18s will also be banned from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots after a consultation on keeping children safe online.

New batch of government documents takes no position on origin of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs)

A possible UFO sighting over a busy southern African airport, and yet more mysterious glowing orbs in the sky above the US, feature in the latest batch of previously classified documents released by the Pentagon on Friday in its stated quest for “transparency” amid the irrepressible debate about the chances of extraterrestrial life.

In keeping with the first two document drops of government papers last month, Friday’s tranche of more than 50 files contains no proof that the tantalizing videos and written accounts of possible alien encounters are anything other than perception, vivid imagination or conspiracy theories.

Amid rhetoric, market uncertainty and tit-for-tat exchanges, the two sides are still trying to find a way out of the impasse

Great news! Donald Trump has said the US and Iran are on the verge of a peace agreement. Oil prices are down, and the stock market is up. This comes only hours after Trump warned Iran was about to be struck “VERY HARD”, a threat that had sent oil prices up and stocks down.

It has been another ride on the Trump rollercoaster, keeping traders on edge, most of the world poorer, and people of the Middle East constantly whiplashing between fear and hope. But whether the ride veers up or down, the management always makes money.

Paris meeting draws up proposals and calls for urgent diplomacy towards two-state solution at summit next week

Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups meeting in Paris on Friday have urged G7 leaders to act at their summit in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains next week to save the narrowing chances of a two-state solution.

The groups called for specific action on enforcing a ceasefire, disarming Hamas and starting reconstruction in Gaza, and said the various peace processes including the Board of Peace initiative should be integrated into one programme.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, already under investigation for alleged influence-peddling, facing questions over items found in office safe

The former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is being investigated for possible tax fraud and smuggling after police discovered jewellery valued at more than €1.3m (£1.1m) while searching his office safe as part of a separate inquiry.

Zapatero, who led two socialist governments between 2004 and 2011, is already under investigation for alleged influence-peddling and other offences relating to the state bailout of the Spanish Plus Ultra airline during the Covid pandemic. He is alleged to have overseen “a hierarchical structure of influence-peddling”, whose purpose was “to obtain economic benefits through intermediation and the exercise of influence before public bodies in favour of third parties, mainly Plus Ultra”.

With more than 177,000 people forcibly disappeared since 2011, short doc Maybe Tomorrow captures ‘the violence of waiting’ experienced by family

When Wafa Mustafa was a child, she remembers her father playing the music of Umm Kulthum non-stop at home in Syria, humming along to the legendary Egyptian singer’s melodic tones. One day, in an effort to encourage his daughter to appreciate music, he asked her to take a pen and paper and write the lyrics of a song she loved. Wanting to impress him, Mustafa chose an Umm Kulthum song called “Aghadan Alqak”, which translates to: “Will I meet you tomorrow?”

“The lyrics are literally about someone who’s gone, about the waiting for them and the love you have for them,” says Mustafa. “It feels like I knew what was coming … as if I manifested my life since I was very young.”

Cyber agency says BlackCore targeted John Swinney, as well as interfering in New York and French elections

France’s cybersecurity agency has accused the Israeli tech company BlackCore of interfering in the Scottish elections earlier this year by targeting the first minister, John Swinney.

The disinformation detection agency Viginum said BlackCore had this year used proxy social media accounts to target Swinney, the Scottish National party, and the Scottish government on four occasions.

Flag bans, travel headaches and a religious regime video among bumps in road, as team prepares to be first to play in country with which it is at war

Iran will present a major challenge to Fifa’s “football unites the world” slogan on Monday by becoming the first country in World Cup history to compete on the soil of a host nation with which it is at war.

The national team’s opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles will kick off amid continuing hostilities between Iran and the US that have intensified in recent days, as a fragile ceasefire has failed to hold and attempts at reaching a negotiated settlement have sputtered.

Guardian reporters Fabiola Cineas and Adria Walker held a Reddit Q&A about Louisiana v Callais – here’s a rundown

In April, the supreme court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais struck a massive blow to the Voting Rights Act, eliminating a key provision that gave minority voters representation in Congress.

Within days of the decision, Republican-led states in the south moved to redraw congressional maps to erase majority-Black districts. Some of those maps have already gone into effect ahead of the midterms.

Il gabbiano gli ha rubato il pranzo, lui lo ha afferrato e colpito ripetutamente fino a provocarne la morte. È quanto sostiene il Daily Mail, che riporta diverse testimonianze relative a un episodio avvenuto mercoledì 10 giugno a St Ives, popolare località balneare della Cornovaglia.

Secondo il tabloid britannico, il volatile si sarebbe lanciato sul cibo che l’uomo stava trasportando mentre passeggiava insieme alla moglie e al figlio. A quel punto, il turista avrebbe reagito afferrando l’animale e colpendolo più volte.

Tra i testimoni citati dal Daily Mail c’è Rosie Reynolds, che stava lavorando in un punto vendita di escursioni in barca nei pressi del porto. La donna sostiene di aver assistito all’intera scena. “Il gabbiano è sceso in picchiata e gli ha portato via il pasto. Lui lo ha afferrato e ha iniziato a colpirlo al petto mentre lo teneva bloccato”, ha raccontato al giornale. Secondo il suo resoconto, dopo alcuni colpi l’animale sarebbe rimasto immobile e sarebbe stato poi gettato a terra gravemente ferito.

Il Daily Mail riferisce anche la testimonianza di un commerciante della zona, che sostiene di aver servito l’uomo poco prima dell’accaduto. Secondo il suo racconto, il gabbiano avrebbe sottratto un panino al pesce. Un altro testimone, citato dal tabloid e intervenuto sui social, ha affermato di aver visto l’uomo colpire violentemente il volatile sul lungomare davanti a numerose persone, compresi alcuni bambini.

Nelle ore successive all’episodio diverse fotografie dell’uomo hanno iniziato a circolare sui social network. Il Daily Mail riferisce che alcuni utenti avrebbero identificato il presunto responsabile, ma al momento non risultano comunicazioni ufficiali da parte della polizia in merito alla sua identità.

Le autorità del Devon e della Cornovaglia hanno confermato di aver ricevuto una segnalazione indiretta dell’accaduto e hanno lanciato un appello ai testimoni: “Stiamo cercando persone che abbiano assistito all’episodio o che dispongano di immagini e filmati”, ha dichiarato un portavoce, citato dalla stampa britannica.

I gabbiani reali sono una specie protetta nel Regno Unito ai sensi del Wildlife and Countryside Act. In caso di accertamento delle responsabilità, chi danneggia o uccide deliberatamente questi animali può andare incontro a sanzioni severe, comprese multe elevate e pene detentive.

L'articolo “L’uccello è sceso in picchiata e gli ha rubato il pasto. Lui lo ha afferrato e ha iniziato a colpirlo al petto”: gabbiano ucciso da un turista a St Ives, si cercano testimoni proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Jibril Rajoub attended opening match in Mexico but becomes latest football official hit by US visa issues, he says

The head of the Palestinian Football Association has said he is unable to travel to the US with other federation heads attending the 2026 Fifa World Cup because he has not been issued a visa.

Jibril Rajoub went to the opening match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City on Thursday. But he is among several people accredited to attend the World Cup who have been denied visas or have yet to receive them from the US.

Trump claims strikes called off as deal is close, but Tehran denies agreement near, while legal experts question if US targets may be a war crime. Plus 20 years of Taylor Swift’s incredible influence on pop culture

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Good morning. Yesterday, Donald Trump spent the day promising he was going to hit Iran harder than ever before, then announced – again – that the US and Iran were close to signing a deal. Iran’s foreign ministry dismissed the claim, and Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, wrote that “until a potential understanding is announced by Iran, any news from Trump on this matter should be dismissed”.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said large parts of the text under negotiation had been finalised but Iran would not compromise on its red lines. Two days of escalating attacks between the warring nations had threatened to collapse the fragile ceasefire.

What is the issue around the US choice of targets in Iran? Military strikes on 10 June that damaged two water storage facilities in southern Iran may constitute a war crime, legal and military experts say. The attack on the Bemani district destroyed a key reservoir serving about 20,000 people, raising critical legal questions over whether the strike hit a valid military objective or unlawfully targeted a civilian object.

Why is there a legal challenge to the method? The method has raised concerns for its apparent brutality. Eugene Smith, the first person to die by nitrogen hypoxia, thrashed and writhed on the gurney, according to witnesses. The last nitrogen execution, of Anthony Boyd, appeared to take more than 30 minutes as Boyd shuddered and gasped.

Brent crude falls as optimism rises that strait of Hormuz could reopen over the weekend

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Global oil prices fell on Friday to lows not seen since the first week of the Iran crisis after Donald Trump claimed he was close to reaching a peace deal with Tehran.

The price of Brent crude began to tumble from about $93 a barrel in overnight trade after the US president called off further military strikes against Iran scheduled for the evening.

Plus, Brexit at 10, dinner as protest, 100 best novels and not watching the World Cup (yet)

We’re approaching the 10-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum. Documentaries are being aired and newspaper features are being written. But one thing seems to be missing. Why aren’t all those big names who campaigned for Brexit back in 2016 now shouting from the rooftops about what a great success it has been?

From before it was legalised in 2016, Medical Assistance in Dying (“MAiD”) has been sold to Canadians as compassion, as a last resort for unbearable terminal suffering. “They promised safeguards. They said […]

The post MAiD: Canada’s drive-thru death by doctor service first appeared on The Expose.

Arrest of Min Zin, who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy, comes just month after Trump visit to Beijing

China has arrested a US scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of spying.

Min Zin was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, said on Friday.

Congress has failed to reauthorize section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act amid questions over its future

Donald Trump’s bid to install a controversial ally as the country’s leading intelligence official has shone a light on the wide reach of a powerful surveillance law, and raised questions over its future.

Privacy advocates say it deserves scrutiny, and reform, regardless of who the US president appoints as director of national intelligence (DNI).

Relatives of those killed on flight AI171 are still struggling to obtain answers about what happened

When Sagar Patel’s mother boarded Air India flight AI171 on 12 June last year, she called her son as she always did before takeoff. The flight was due to leave Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, and was destined for Gatwick.

“We always had a little traditional thing,” said Patel, a business manager from London. “Once she got on the flight, she would sit down and call me. She’d tell me: ‘Yep, I’m on the flight. See you later.’”