Before the conflict began, inflation was at 2.4%, but the closure of the strait of Hormuz has affected energy prices
US inflation jumped to an annual rate of 4.2% in May, the third consecutive monthly increase since the start of the Iran war and a three-year high, as Americans continue to face steep oil prices.
Prices have increased sharply over the past several months, rising at an annual rate of 3.3% in March before going up to 3.8% in April. In February, before the conflict began, inflation was at 2.4%.
Thai woman is in custody in connection with investigation after man was reportedly found dead at a hotel in Yangon
A US diplomat has been found dead in Myanmar’s largest city, and members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman had been detained by police in connection with the investigation.
US officials in Thailand and the US embassy in Myanmar referred questions on the case to the state department, which confirmed the “death of a US government employee” assigned to the embassy in Yangon, but gave no other details.
US launches strikes in retaliation for downing of US army helicopter, while White House source says deal could still be close
The future of peace talks in the Middle East have been thrown into question after Iran’s foreign ministry said it needed to “reassess” its participation, while Donald Trump said Iran would have to “pay the price” after the two countries traded fire overnight, drawing neighbouring states back into an on-and-off war that has consumed the region since late February.
The US launched strikes against Iran in the early hours of Wednesday morning in retaliation for what it said was Iran’s downing of a US army helicopter near the strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched a wave of retaliatory airstrikes claiming hits on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Democrats have rolled the dice in Maine as they pursue a post-Trump future. Will it work?
It was over the moment he received the endorsement of Maine’s most famous resident: Stephen King, the master of horror, who announced on Tuesday that he voted for Graham Platner.
More than 100,000 Democrats in Maine agreed, making Platner, a marine veteran and oyster farmer, their nominee for the US Senate against Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November.
Broadcaster says it is focusing on series’ long-term future after departure of showrunner and producer
The BBC has cancelled the special Christmas episode of Doctor Who amid speculation about the future of the series after Ncuti Gatwa ended his run as the Time Lord.
The broadcaster also said the long-running sci-fi series, which launched in 1963, would be put out to “competitive tender” this year as part of its Royal Charter agreement after the departure of the showrunner Russell T Davies and producer Bad Wolf.
One of the UK’s leading human rights lawyers has said the potential sentencing of four Palestine Action protesters as terrorists when the jury did not convict them of a terrorism offence violates fundamental legal principles.
Michael Mansfield KC, known for his work on landmark cases such as the Grenfell Tower fire, Stephen Lawrence’s murder and the Birmingham Six, claimed the sentencing of Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21 represents a “constitutional threat”.
Vice-president says he expects war to end in a week – or a few months. Plus, get ready for start of Fifa men’s World Cup
Good morning.
US forces have launched strikes against Iran in response to the downing of an Apache helicopter near the strait of Hormuz a day earlier, and Iran has retaliated by hitting American airbases in the Middle East. The exchange of fire came as the US vice-president, JD Vance, was vague on the possible timeframe for ending the Iran war, saying it could conclude in a week or a few months.
What did Vance actually say? “Right now, I feel that we are in a position to get a deal that is good for the United States economically and that really does deal with the Iranian nuclear program. Not just now, not just while Donald Trump is president, but for the long term, to where my kids can say when they’re adults: ‘Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon.’”
Who is Steve Hilton?Since arriving in the US 14 years ago, he has had stints as an entrepreneur, a policy analyst and a Fox News host after years of working in the background of Conservative party politics in Britain.
Who has been supporting him? Hilton has assembled a broad coalition spanning working-class voters, Latino small-business owners, religious conservatives and Silicon Valley tech tycoons. He has managed to turn his British accent into an asset, priding himself on being a legal immigrant as opposed to the undocumented kind derided by the Republican establishment.
Weight-loss drugs are saving users’ households more than £400 a year on grocery bills, according to a survey, which found use of GLP-1s has nearly tripled in the past two years to 1.9 million adults.
More than 6.3% of households in Great Britain now include at least one GLP-1 user, according to the research by Worldpanel by Numerator. This marks a sharp rise from 4.1% of households in 2025 and 2.3% in 2024.
Donald Trump said Iran has taken “too long” to agree to a deal “that would have been great for them” and will now “have to pay the price”.
In a post on Truth Social early this morning, which came after the US and Iran exchanged fire on Tuesday, Trump wrote:
Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore - They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!
A member of the US navy has been ordered to spend 44 years in federal prison after admitting that he fatally strangled a fellow sailor in his barracks room, violently squeezed the neck of a second woman onboard an aircraft carrier and illegally made secret video recordings of a third, including while they were being intimate.
Meanwhile, the family of the petty officer whom Jermiah Copeland acknowledged murdering, Angelina Resendiz, has called for reforms within the armed forces meant to better protect women serving in the military.
Lawmakers warn appointment of presidential loyalist will scuttle bipartisan agreement to renew Fisa surveillance law
Donald Trump is pushing ahead with his controversial plan to install political loyalist Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, a move that has sparked bipartisan congressional backlash and imperiled the reauthorization of a powerful surveillance law set to expire at the end of this week.
Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement came after he met earlier in the day with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, to discuss Pulte’s elevation to the role, which has prompted widespread concern over his complete lack of national security experience and the prospect that he could use the office’s spying powers to continue his campaign of targeting Trump’s perceived political enemies.
The Chinese car company BYD has said it aims to be the world’s biggest automaker within the next five years.
Targeting Toyota’s long-held top spot, BYD’s founder and chair, Wang Chuanfu said he was confident it could overtake global rivals through rapid advances in battery technology and fast charging, as well as growing production overseas, including Europe.
‘Temporary agreement’ in place since Football Association safeguarding investigation began three years ago
David Sullivan has faced restrictions on his contact with West Ham’s women’s and youth teams since 2023 because of a safeguarding investigation.
The Football Association began an inquiry three years ago after receiving a complaint, which the Guardian understands involves an allegation of sexual misconduct unrelated to football.
From Spain to Japan, experiments have repeatedly shown a left-turn bias, but exact mechanic ‘is still an open question’
“I’m not an ambi-turner,” laments Derek Zoolander in the eponymous noughties satire about the world’s hottest male model and his rare catwalk hangup. “It’s a problem I’ve had since I was a baby … I can’t turn left.”
Now, research suggests that the fashionista’s career-threatening quirk was even more unusual than previously thought. Tests reveal that when people are ambling about, they have a natural tendency to turn to the left and walk in an anticlockwise direction.
Taliban forces fire on crowds in Herat, who were protesting at manhandling of women arrested over hijab dress code
A Taliban crackdown on women’s dress code in Afghanistan has escalated into a rare mass street protest in the western province of Herat, with at least two people killed by security forces.
Officials made a wave of arrests in recent days targeting women and young girls accused of “improper hijab”. Residents say many families had received no information about the whereabouts or condition of those detained.
Renewed outrage at White House’s use manga and anime imagery after US president is depicted as ninja Naruto
Japanese anime and manga fans are urging Donald Trump to stop using their favourite characters in his social media posts.
About 20,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org entitled Protect Japanese Manga, protesting against the official White House X account posting videos featuring unauthorised use of imagery from the popular Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Naruto series. Angry fans have also been posting on social media.
Billboards are being painted over and former allies seem eager to forget the man they once glorified
For years, his bewhiskered face stared down from propaganda billboards glorifying the supposedly revolutionary rule of a dictator who styled himself as “the protector of the people”.
The spin-doctored adoration was such that factories churned out plastic action figures exalting Nicolás Maduro as an “indestructible” and “iron-fisted” caped crusader nicknamed “Super Moustache”.
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.
Hadi Alodid refused legal representation and made no reply to charges which were put put to him through an Arabic interpreter as he appeared in court charged with attempted murder following the Belfast knife attack, the Press Association reports.
The 30-year-old, with an address at Duncairn Avenue in Belfast, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court on Wednesday morning.
He is charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie on Monday, with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day and with the possession of a knife.
Outcome of polls in four states offers mixed signals about direction of two major parties before November’s midterms
Progressives rallied round the controversial Graham Platner after his primary victory in Maine on Tuesday, while Donald Trump again exerted his grip on the Republican party, helping to defeat a politician who had pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Primary elections were held in four states – Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina – ahead of November’s midterms to decide control of both houses of Congress. The results offered mixed signals about the direction of the two major parties.
Login
