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UK readies sanctions against Israel to deter proposed illegal West Bank settlement

Move comes as 137 Labour MPs sign letter demanding ‘urgent, concrete action’ to stop settler violence

The UK Foreign Office and a group of western countries are due to announce a package of sanctions against Israel this week designed to deter companies from becoming involved in a proposed West Bank settlement that would split the territory in two and render the concept of a two-state solution near impossible.

Nine countries including France, the UK and Australia have warned that settlement violence must stop and no company should be involved in what is known as the E1 development.

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© Photograph: Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images

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Iran launches missiles at Israel in response to strikes on Beirut

Tehran official had promised ‘decisive and painful’ reply to Israeli bombing of apartment buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs

Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in response to Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, shattering a fragile ceasefire and marking the most serious escalation since April, after 100 days of war.

A senior Iranian official has promised a “decisive and painful” response to Israel’s airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and, a few hours later, sirens sounded across northern Israel.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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Trump reportedly tells Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran - as it happened

This blog is now closed – our live coverage of the Middle East crisis continues here

Donald Trump also aggressively pushed back against claims that he broke a key campaign promise to keep the US out of new foreign conflicts.

“Well, well, first of all, I didn’t guarantee no war,” Trump said during the Meet the Press interview. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”

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© Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

© Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

© Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

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Africa needs strong men to build strong institutions

Imported democracy, far from emancipating Africa, locks it into a vicious cycle that perpetuates its underdevelopment. Through a sociometric, synchronic, and diachronic approach, this article seeks to deconstruct the foundational lie upon which the established order rests (I), before highlighting the mechanisms of the democratic trap in which African peoples are ensnared (II). It then […]
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Could this one man have been behind terrorist attacks on Jewish communities across Europe?

Legal papers, expert investigations and social media posts tell story of how a 32-year-old Iraqi appeared to run ‘proxy’ campaign

On Monday, a slightly dishevelled Iraqi man, shackled and dressed in beige prison overalls, was ushered into a Manhattan courtroom.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, pleaded not guilty to a series of terrorism-related offences, then gestured toward the judge and prosecutors. “I’m a prisoner of war. I’m not a threat,” he told them. “Children and women are being killed by your rockets.”

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© Composite: Guardian Design/NurPhoto/Shutterstock/ Southern District of New York/AP/Reuters

© Composite: Guardian Design/NurPhoto/Shutterstock/ Southern District of New York/AP/Reuters

© Composite: Guardian Design/NurPhoto/Shutterstock/ Southern District of New York/AP/Reuters

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The Trump‑blocked contraceptives that never reached Kenya: “I am not ready to have another baby”

In a huge warehouse in Geel, Belgium, $9.7 million in contraceptives have been locked up since early 2025. Some 77% of the shipment from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was destined for about 10 African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali. But when Donald Trump’s administration dismantled the world’s largest development aid organization, these medicines were left stranded, destined either to be destroyed or to expire box by box. About 5,800 miles south of Belgium, in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Jane Anyongo, Violet Mosomi, Salma Kamau, and hundreds of thousands of women are still waiting for their pills, condoms, subdermal implants, intrauterine devices, and other sexual and reproductive health supplies.

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© Diego Menjíbar

Salma* (32, Nairobi) is another woman affected by the shortage of contraceptives in Kenya. She wants to switch to a copper IUD, but there isn’t enough stock at the Njiru health center.

© Diego Menjíbar

A copper IUD donated by USAID. This is one of the last remaining units at the Njiru health center.

© Diego Menjíbar

Jadelle, a contraceptive implant donated by USAID. This is one of the last remaining units at the Njiru health center.

© Diego Menjíbar

Mirena, a hormonal intrauterine device.

© Diego Menjíbar

One of the hallways at the Njiru health center in Nairobi on May 8, 2026.

© Diego Menjíbar

One of the murals featuring the USAID logo is still on one of the walls at the Njiru health center.

© Diego Menjíbar

The maternity ward at the Njiru health center.

© Diego Menjíbar

The family planning office at the Njiru health center in Nairobi on May 8, 2026.
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