Belgium knocks out U.S. men 4-1, ending the Americans' World Cup run in Seattle

Belgium defeated the U.S. Men's National Team​ 4-1 on Monday night in the World Cup round of 16 knockout match in Seattle, ending the Americans' hopes of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years.

Pam the Bird: arrest ends hours-long standoff after graffiti painted on Melbourne’s 120m Bolte Bridge tower

Man on bridge allegedly refused to come down after allegedly posting tax complaint on social media

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Victoria police have arrested a man who allegedly scaled the top of a major inner-city bridge and painted the well-known Pam the Bird graffiti tag, before bringing traffic to a crawl.

The arrest came after an hours-long standoff with authorities, which began when emergency services were called to the Bolte Bridge about 3am on Tuesday after reports a man had climbed one of the bridge’s 120-metre-high pillars.

U.S. loses to Belgium 4-1; Balogun plays after Trump calls FIFA

FIFA reversed Folarin Balogun’s suspension after Trump sought a review, letting the U.S. striker play Belgium over objections.

Trump heads to Turkey as NATO is strained by Russian attacks, U.S. impatience

Trump frequently vented about NATO members' refusal to heed U.S. calls for help clearing the Strait of Hormuz during its campaign against Iran.

See the full U.S. men's soccer schedule for the 2026 World Cup

The U.S. men's national soccer team kicked off its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on Friday.

What a divorce coach wishes couples knew before ending a marriage

Divorce is a tool, not a weapon, says Karen McNenny, author of a new book on the subject. She explains how to end a marriage while protecting your family and your mental health.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule and how to watch

With 104 World Cup games being played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, it's like "a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks," U.S. team captain Tim Ream told CBS News.

Ragged USA crash out of World Cup with last-16 defeat to Belgium

The United States’ quest to get Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned may have opened a Pandora’s box – one specifically designed to contain the national team’s worst nightmares.

With a country on the verge of falling in love with this team, and tens of millions eager for a reason to embrace the glory and pride this sport can provide, there were instead questions of fairness and propriety. A star striker, who made an honest, unintentional mistake – and said and did all the right things – became a talking point. And a day later, on an otherwise beautiful Monday evening in the Pacific north-west, the United States’ World Cup dream ended with a thud.

The U.S. men's run at the World Cup ends with a 4-1 Round of 16 loss to Belgium

The team was in the eye of a storm over a controversial phone call from President Trump to FIFA's head about a red card on a U.S. striker. But even with the U.S. at full strength, Belgium easily won.

Tributes flow for ‘deeply loved’ Melbourne teacher who died after a head clash during Australian football game

Mernda school community in mourning after Nathan Fitzgerald, 27, dies in hospital

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

A Melbourne teacher who died after a horror head clash during an Australian football game has been remembered for the ways he touched the lives of his loved ones.

Nathan Fitzgerald, 27, was taken to the Royal Melbourne hospital after he fell to the ground and hit his head on a covered cricket pitch during an Australian rules football game in Lalor in Melbourne’s north on Saturday.

‘They have Messi, but we have Salah’: Egypt prepare to take on Argentina

Last 16 tie will be the first international meeting between two modern legends who may yet go on making history

As Mohamed Salah savoured the feeling of Egypt’s historic victory over Australia, the narrative had already moved on. The former Liverpool forward could not contain his delight after his scuffed penalty helped to seal a redemptive shootout triumph in Dallas for the Pharaohs on Friday.

“I decided last minute. I am more experienced than others and I wanted to give them confidence,” said Salah, who had missed in Egypt’s last two shootouts, including the World Cup qualifying playoff against Senegal four years ago.

Ukraine war briefing: Drones strike Russia oil refinery in Siberia as Zelenskyy warns region now ‘within reach’

Ukrainian president says long-range attack an ‘important achievement’ while also pleading for better air defences. What we know on day 1,595

Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Omsk oil refinery – the country’s largest, located deep in Siberia – in what would be one of Ukraine’s longest-range attacks of the war, Kyiv’s military said. Local Russian authorities confirmed the strike, which came on the eve of a crucial Nato summit. The strike caused a fire at the Omsk refinery, about 2,700km from Ukrainian-held territory and close to Russia’s border with ⁠Kazakhstan, the Ukrainian military’s general ⁠staff said. The Omsk region’s governor, Vitaly Khotsenko, said Ukraine had attacked the refinery and that Russian air defences had destroyed most of the drones involved in ⁠the strike. There were no casualties and emergency services were working at the scene, he said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack ‌as an “important achievement” for Ukraine’s armed forces, adding in his nightly video address: “Siberia, too, is now within reach of Ukrainian precision strikes.” The Ukrainian defence technology company Fire Point said its upgraded FP-1 drones carried out the attack and described it as a record for strike drones “not only in Ukraine, but worldwide. Prior to this, the Omsk oil refinery had remained out of reach for Ukrainian drones.” Ukraine’s military also ​hit Russia’s Ust-Luga and Vysotsk ports, which handle oil exports on the Baltic Sea, as ​well as targets in ‌the Kaluga and ​Yaroslavl regions, local governors ​said.

Russia fired missiles and drones into apartment buildings in Kyiv for the second time in a week on Monday, killing at least 21 people and exposing the city’s critical ⁠shortage of US-made interceptors, Ukrainian authorities said, just ​days after a huge attack on the Ukrainian capital killed at least 27. Rescuers were digging bodies from the rubble of a Kyiv high-rise ripped open in the latest bombardment. The attack came on the eve of a Nato summit in Turkey where Donald Trump is due ⁠to hold talks with Zelenskyy in a renewed push for peace. The US president said on Monday ​that a ⁠resolution to the ⁠war ​in ‌Ukraine ‌was “getting closer than ‌people realise”.

Zelenskyy pleaded for Nato to boost Ukraine’s air defence against Russia’s ballistic missiles, saying in the aftermath of the strikes: “It is simply absurd that in the modern world, production has still not been organised to the extent that is necessary to protect people from ballistic terror.” He also said Kyiv expected “decisions” on Ukrainian air defence at the Ankara summit. Earlier, Nato chief Mark Rutte said: “Allies and Nato partners must continue to ensure Ukraine gets what it needs.”

Ukraine hopes to sign major defence deals with at least seven Nato countries by the end of the year, according to a top official, highlighting a new aspect of Kyiv’s foreign policy intended to show it can be a provider as well as a recipient of military hardware and expertise, reports Shaun Walker. Kyiv has signed “drone deals” with six countries in recent months.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said it had summoned ⁠Russia’s ambassador ⁠to ​protest against what it said was a Russian drone strike on ⁠a fuel station belonging to state oil and gas company Socar in ⁠Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region on Sunday. The ministry said other Socar-owned facilities in Ukraine, including an oil depot in Odesa, had previously been damaged ‌in military strikes. “The continuation of such incidents, despite repeated warnings, indicates the ​deliberate nature of these attacks,” it said in a statement on Monday. There was no immediate response from Russia.

Poland has provided €3.8bn ($4.3bn) in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Polish defence minister said, calling the amount “worth boasting about”. The announcement came as Poland’s defence ministry began declassifying its military donations to Ukraine amid an ongoing diplomatic dispute between Warsaw and Kyiv over second world war-era massacres.

What does China’s long-range missile test in the South Pacific mean for Australia? | David Vallance

The timing – on the day the Ocean of Peace Alliance treaty was signed with Fiji – reads as provocation at best, coercion at worst

• Chinese government tells critics not to ‘overinterpret’ missile test in Pacific as criticism grows

At 12.01pm on Monday, a People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine test fired a ballistic missile into the South Pacific nuclear-free zone. This is the second time China has conducted a ballistic missile test in the Pacific in two years.

Coming on the day Fiji became Australia’s fourth formal treaty ally, after the US, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, this test’s timing is interesting. It reads as a provocation at best, outright coercion at worst.

Dayslong preliminary hearing for Charlie Kirk's alleged killer is underway

Prosecutors will present their case this week against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Sri Lanka prison riot kills 26, with more than 100 others wounded

Victims with cuts and gunshot injuries rushed to hospital after fighting between prisoners from two drug gangs

Clashes at a Sri Lankan jail have killed 26 people, including seven guards, and wounded more than 100 in the country’s deadliest prison riot in years, officials said.

Victims with cuts and gunshot injuries were rushed to Negombo hospital, north of the capital Colombo after overnight fighting between prisoners from two drug gangs, police said on Monday.

Suspect in Charlie Kirk killing appears in court

Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was in court Monday for a critical hearing. Carter Evans reports.

Chris Richards on red card controversy, U.S.-Belgium match: "Business as usual"

U.S. Men's National Team defender Chris Richards spoke with "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil in an interview ahead of the knockout match against Belgium.

USMNT defender Chris Richards reacts to Folarin Balogun's red card suspension being lifted

USMNT defender Chris Richards speaks with Tony Dokoupil about the controversial decision to lift the suspension against Folarin Balogun and his team's ongoing run through the World Cup.

2 National Guard members on patrol in Memphis fatally shoot man, police say

Two Tennessee National Guard members fatally shot a man in Memphis who turned toward them with a gun during a downtown pursuit, authorities said.

Calls grow for Graham Platner to drop out after sexual assault allegation

Several top Democratic figures call on beleaguered Maine Senate candidate, who denies accusation, to step down

Calls for Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Maine, to withdraw his candidacy intensified Monday after a woman accused him of sexual assault in an exclusive report by Politico.

While Platner denied the claims, many top Democratic figures quickly called on the beleaguered nominee to step down.

Woman who dated Graham Platner claims he sexually assaulted her, Politico reports

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is postponing campaign events after a woman he dated told Politico that Platner forced her to have sex against her will. Nikole Killion reports.

Passenger recounts seaplane's hard landing in New York City's East River

A seaplane was forced to make a hard landing Sunday in New York City's East River. Kris Van Cleave spoke with one of the passengers.

New Jersey hit with powerful back-to-back thunderstorms after enduring extreme heat

Parts of New Jersey are cleaning up after a wave of powerful thunderstorms brought flooding and ripped the roof off a BJ's Wholesale Club. Lana Zak reports on that and some of the other severe weather across the U.S., while Lonnie Quinn has a look at the forecast.

Chinese government tells critics not to ‘overinterpret’ missile test in Pacific as criticism grows

The Australian government says there was ‘insufficient notice’ as details of missile path are released by Taiwan government

China’s missile test in the Pacific did not comply with international law and was conducted with “insufficient notice” to nearby countries, officials in the US and Australia have said, amid growing international condemnation.

But a Chinese government spokesperson claimed the test was “safe” and part of “routine” military training, telling critics to “not over-interpret it.”

Extreme heat on Independence Day will be America's new normal, experts say

In cities across the U.S., parades were canceled and events were delayed because of the heat. Meanwhile, emergency rooms saw a high number of people with heat-related illnesses.

Air pollution linked to DNA changes in sperm, research shows

Study of more than 2,000 men identifies epigenetic changes linked to exposure to common outdoor pollutants

Air pollution appears to alter how sperm genes function, one of the largest fertility studies of its kind has found.

Men exposed to common air pollutants while sperm were developing showed subtle DNA changes that affected whether genes were switched on or off, raising fresh concerns air pollution may harm male fertility.

Scotland could freeze datacentre projects in challenge to UK’s AI strategy

Scottish government to consider SNP national council motion for moratorium on all new datacentres

The Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK’s AI strategy at risk.

Last Sunday the Scottish National party (SNP)’s national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider.

Balogun's red card suspension lifted after Trump called FIFA chief

Balogun's reinstatement came after President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino last week and asked for a review of the red card suspension.

Trump says he saw play that led to red card and asked FIFA president for review

President Trump said he spoke to FIFA President Gianni Infantino after seeing the play and asked for a review.

FIFA criticized for lifting U.S. star's red card suspension after Trump phone call

Europe's soccer governing body and prominent commentators have criticized the decision, which allows Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium.

7/6: CBS Evening News

New Jersey hit with powerful storms after heat wave; passenger recounts seaplane's hard landing in New York City's East River.

Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, as Xbox unit downsizes and plans to spin off four gaming studios

Microsoft is cutting jobs in its commercial business and its Xbox gaming group, where revenue has been shrinking.

This World Cup marks end of era for Ronaldo and other soccer greats

Some of the greatest footballers of a generation played their final World Cup match this summer.

Starmer to rally European allies at Nato summit amid concerns over US stance

Outgoing PM will stress British commitment to defence spending at meeting in Ankara to counter Trump rebukes

Keir Starmer will seek to work with European allies to shore up support for Nato at its summit in Ankara on Tuesday amid concerns that Donald Trump could further destabilise the military alliance with threats over defence spending.

Downing Street said the prime minister and other international leaders would be focused on “building a stronger and more European Nato” as they attempt to address the US president’s concerns in the Turkish capital.

Captain fantastic to Irish joy: farewell to the Women’s T20 World Cup | Raf Nicholson

Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Molineux led their teams expertly and Australia v India at Lord’s felt like a final

It’s easy to understand why Beth Mooney was chosen as player of the tournament after her magnificent innings in the final. Also in the running mustbe Danni Wyatt-Hodge, whose hundred on the opening night at Edgbaston set the tone for a confident campaign by England (at least until they ran into the Australia juggernaut in the final).

Merino strikes at the death for Spain to send Portugal and Ronaldo limping out

It ended with a goal from a tall, slightly ungainly figure driving through the centre-forward position – but perhaps not the one that the narrative demanded. In stoppage time, Mikel Merino ran on to Ferran Torres’s through-ball and, with impressive calm after a scrappy game that had largely lacked it, rolled the winner past Diogo Costa.

He celebrated, as he had after his winner against Germany at the Euros two years ago, with a run around the corner flag, echoing his father’s celebration after scoring for Osasuna in Stuttgart in 1991.

USA set to take on Belgium in World Cup amid Trump red card controversy

Ahead of this evening's World Cup match between the U.S. and Belgium, the drama about the eligibility of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun continues to swirl following his red card in the previous match.

Ann Blyth obituary

Oscar-nominated Hollywood actress who starred alongside Joan Crawford in the 1945 noir melodrama Mildred Pierce

Joan Crawford was never likely to be voted mother of the year once her daughter Christina wrote Mommie Dearest, a memoir alleging physical and psychological abuse. Among the friends and former colleagues who sprang to her defence after the book’s publication in 1978 was Ann Blyth, who at the age of 17 played Crawford’s headstrong and resentful screen daughter Veda in the noir melodrama Mildred Pierce (1945).

The film, adapted from the novel by James M Cain, was nominated for six Oscars, including one for Blyth as best supporting actress. She called her veteran co-star “the kindest, most helpful human being I’ve ever worked with”. That kindness began during the audition process. “[She] did the test with me, and it made a world of difference,” she said in 2013. “People just didn’t do that. Not of her stature.”

Judge says alleged D.C. pipe bomber isn't covered by Trump's Jan. 6 pardons

A judge ruled that that President Trump's pardons of the rioters were "expressly limited" to those who were convicted of their actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and did not apply to Brian Cole Jr.

7/6: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Democrats withdrawing Platner endorsements after sexual assault allegation; Russian attack on Kyiv looms over upcoming NATO summit.

Extended interview: USMNT player Chris Richards on Balogun red card, World Cup popularity, more

USMNT player Chris Richards speaks with Tony Dokoupil about how the team reacted when they found out Folarin Balogun could play against Belgium, what he thinks of the World Cup's popularity in the U.S. and more.

‘A despicable woman’: Kylian Mbappé hits out at Paraguayan senator over racist attack

• Celeste Amarilla called striker a ‘colonised Cameroonian’

• French Football Federation to file criminal charges

France’s Kylian Mbappé has hit back at a Paraguayan senator, describing her ⁠as a “despicable woman” after she launched a racist attack on him. Mbappé’s ⁠penalty proved ​the difference in an ill-tempered match as France beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday to advance ⁠to the quarter-finals.

Celeste Amarilla wrote a long tirade on X, describing Mbappé as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to ⁠pass himself off as French” and as a “brute who had not learned to ​write”. Paraguay’s players should have ‌slapped him after the ‌match, she added.

‘Best host in the world’: Mexico keep spirits up after England heartbreak

Despite ‘a setback that will hurt for eternity’, the co-hosts exit with heads held high after bringing pride, passion and soul

On Monday music pulsated from some of the bars on Calle Genova, a narrow thoroughfare in Mexico City’s heart that rarely lives in silence. The clock was yet to strike 11am, but, spilling out on to the street, a healthy crowd of patrons were picking up where they had left off. Perhaps they had never stopped at all. National team shirts were on full display and, had anyone lived under a news blackout for 15 hours, they may have drawn a wildly different conclusion about the previous night’s events.

The truth was more evident to anyone who, upon returning from Estadio Azteca, made a beeline for Paseo de la Reforma. Long after Mexico’s last-16 victory over Ecuador this vast boulevard had been teeming, an affirmative national moment bringing 1.4 million people on to the streets. But it was virtually empty three and a half hours after England had shattered the dreams of El Tri, the clean-up operation from the evening’s mass screening already in full swing and remaining revellers confined to the sidestreets.

Toyota to invest $3.6 billion to move Tacoma pickup truck production from Mexico to Texas

Toyota said it is investing $3.6 billion to move production of the Tacoma midsize pickup truck from Mexico to its San Antonio manufacturing campus in Texas.

Taylor Fritz aces Bublik to evoke memories of Sampras’ golden era

• Fritz eases past 10th seed in straight-sets victory

• De Minaur in ‘gut-wrenching’ defeat to Cobolli

It is 26 years since an American man last won Wimbledon, when Pete ­Sampras picked up the last of his seven titles. Taylor Fritz has aspirations to break that drought and on the evidence of his performance on Court No 1 he has a fighting chance.

A semi-finalist here two years ago, Fritz did a passable impression of Sampras with 23 aces as he reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4 victory over the 10th seed, Alexander Bublik, in one hour, 38 minutes. Bublik also served big, cracking 13 aces of his own, but Fritz hit 47 winners and made just eight unforced errors as he set up a meeting with either French Open champion Alexander Zverev or Jiri Lehecka.

Supreme Court lets Texas restrict minors' access to app stores for the time being

Texas' App Store Accountability Act requires minors to have their parents' permission to download most apps. The Supreme Court says the law can go into effect as lawsuits continue in lower courts.

Children who died on Wisconsin's Geneva Lake found in sunken boat, police say

Three children who died when a boat capsized on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin amid a sudden storm last week were found inside the sunken vessel, police said.

Graham Platner faces growing calls to withdraw following allegation of sexual assault

The Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine said he was assessing next steps after allegations of sexual assault were reported on Monday by Politico. Platner denied them as "categorically untrue."

Trump’s World Cup intervention has ruined the game | Robert Reich

We try to teach our children to follow the rules. Now an American president has chosen the opposite tack

I’m rooting for the US as we take on Belgium today in Seattle for a place in the World Cup quarterfinals.

But the game isn’t what it was – before Trump asked the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, to review the suspension of the US’s top scorer, striker Folarin Balogun, who got a red card in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina and would otherwise have been suspended from Monday’s match.

‘Living like this is agony’: Cuba suffers third nationwide blackout in six months

Impoverished island was already struggling to keep the lights on before the US imposed a blockade in January

Cuba on Monday suffered its third nationwide power outage since the start of the year, the state electricity company said.

The impoverished island was already struggling to keep the lights on before the US president, Donald Trump, imposed an oil blockade in January, which has depleted the already dwindling supply of fuel for Cuba’s power plants.

Lauren Bennett, singer on LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem, dies aged 37

British-born vocalist competed on The X-Factor before joining the girl groups Paradiso Girls and G.R.L.

Lauren Bennett, member of the girl group G.R.L. and featured artist on LMFAO’s global smash hit Party Rock Anthem, has died at the age of 37.

“It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our beloved Lauren,” the group wrote on their Instagram page. “Our hearts are broken, and we cannot begin to express how much she meant to us.” A cause of death was not specified.

Do bees have inner lives? Slow-motion video reveals bumblebee behaviour similar to ‘liking’ or ‘disliking’

Bees respond to tasty treats or plain water based on context, a study that may provide support for establishing insect sentience shows

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

When bumblebees taste something good, they reach out their glossa – or insect tongue – for a while afterwards, almost as if they are licking their lips. And when they don’t like something, the insects will shake their heads and wipe their mouths.

Scientists who captured the miniature facial expressions on slow-motion video say the behaviour is consistent with “liking” and “disliking” responses observed in mammals. Their results have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Haaland beats his own drum as Norway get set for England epic | Paul MacInnes

Ståle Solbakken’s side have played with smiles on their faces – and none more so than the talismanic striker

Erling Haaland saves his best content for Snapchat. Norway’s No 9, fresh off another decisive double to dispatch Brazil from the World Cup, posted clips overnight of what looked like a party on the team bus. Haaland was delirious, staggering around in the aisle, singing along to a largely forgotten summer tune by a French DJ called Kungs. “We are never going home,” runs the chorus.

Norway will go home at some point, maybe even on Saturday when they play England in a World Cup quarter-final in Miami. But there can be no doubt that the country, the team, the supporters and their superstar have been making the most of their time in the US. From the longboat rowing ceremony, to the accumulation of cowboy gear (T-shirt: “Y’all can kiss my Dallas”), to Haaland’s performative taking-it-all-in pose – hands on hips, eyes raised to the horizon, bemused smile – they’ve been loving every minute of it.

AI actor Tilly Norwood set to star in first feature film

AI-generated actor Tilly Norwood is set to star in her first feature film, with her creator saying that "art will be imitating life."

Big-hitting Linda Noskova sees off Madison Keys to reach last eight

• No 9 seed beats American 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Court One

• Marta Kostyuk and Elise Mertens also in quarter-finals

The ninth seed, Linda Noskova, produced a composed display under pressure to end Madison Keys’s run here in straight sets, sealing a 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory on Court One to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the second time.

Keys had arrived full of confidence after knocking out last year’s runner-up, Amanda Anisimova in the third round. A former Australian Open champion, Keys was bidding to reach the last eight for the third time in four years. Noskova was chasing her own breakthrough having battled through consecutive three-set matches to return to the fourth round.

Typhoon Maysak kills two and forces thousands to evacuate in China

Tropical storm causes extreme flooding in south of the country with heavy rainfall expected in coming days

A tropical storm has killed two people, caused dam breaches and forced tens of thousands to evacuate in southern China.

Typhoon Maysak killed two people in Nanning, in China’s southern Guangxi province. Maysak, which lashed Vietnam and China’s southern island province of Hainan over the weekend, will dump the water it sucked up on its way ⁠across the South China Sea as it weakens and heads inland, meteorologists say.

Hamas offers to hand over authority in Gaza to US-backed administration

Militant group’s statement makes no promise to disarm unilaterally as Israel and the US have demanded

Hamas has announced its intention to hand over governing authority in Gaza after two decades in power, and has invited a US-backed interim administration to take over the running of the Palestinian territory.

It was not immediately clear how far Monday’s announcement would go towards strengthening an only partially observed ceasefire in Gaza or improving conditions in the besieged coastal strip which is still in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

The Guardian view on atrocities in Sudan: when ‘never again’ becomes again, and again | Editorial

The city of El Obeid faces catastrophe. Governments are shirking their duty to challenge all those sustaining this war

“This is not a drill. It is a red alert,” said the UN rights chief, Volker Türk, on Friday. He was warning that catastrophe was unfolding in the strategically important Sudanese city of El Obeid in north Kordofan. Near-siege conditions are tightening, relentless drone attacks continue and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allies are massing around it.

Two decades ago, after the genocide in Darfur, the world said “never again”. But it is happening again, and few are even paying attention. The alarm was raised repeatedly last year as the starvation siege of El Fasher in north Darfur deepened. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the subsequent massacre, with one witness describing “a scene out of a horror movie”. UN investigators reported “the hallmarks of genocide”, including explicit calls to eliminate non-Arab communities. Civilians who fled were raped and murdered; so were those who stayed. Before El Fasher came a killing spree in Geneina by RSF-allied forces.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Here's who won — and lost — under Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

A year after President Trump signed the sweeping tax and spending package, its effects on households, businesses and federal programs are increasingly evident.

Pogacar rises above wildfire restrictions to take yellow jersey in deserted Les Angles

• Fans were banned from stage three finish amid fire risk

• Tour organisers insist stage four goes ahead in 40C heat

Tour de France organisers have insisted that the fourth stage on Tuesday, from Carcassonne to Foix, will go ahead, despite furnace conditions in southern France and predicted temperatures of more than 40C (104F).

The 182km stage, scheduled to run through the heat of the afternoon, comes after the Tour’s third stage to Les Angles was held without the usual publicity caravan and only small numbers of fans, to avoid increasing the risks posed by wildfires raging in the eastern Pyrenees.

Millions join funeral procession for Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei

Crowds swelled through Tehran as mourners dressed in black carried flags proclaiming: ‘We will rise’

A crowd of “millions” assembled on Monday for the funeral procession of Iran’s assassinated supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

The scale and depth of the march, however engineered, represents an extraordinary turnaround for a country that only seven months ago was gripped by street protests at which thousands of people were killed by government security forces.

Keir Starmer intervened to oppose Fifa’s plan to move England kick-off time

PM stepped in over proposal to shift World Cup match to an earlier time, amid concerns it would benefit Mexico

Keir Starmer intervened through diplomatic channels to oppose Fifa’s plan to bring forward England’s World Cup game against Mexico, amid concerns the change would hand the hosts an unfair advantage, it is understood.

The prime minister instructed officials to argue against proposals to move the kick-off from 1am UK time (6pm local time) to earlier after being alerted by the Football Association that it would reduce England’s time to acclimatise to the high altitude in Mexico City.

Farage is on the brink but if he goes, Labour can’t rest easy: people still need something worth voting for | Gaby Hinsliff

The Reform funding scandals could yet bring down its leader – and give Andy Burnham a head start. The biggest pitfall would be complacency

No politician is greater than their party. However bright you shine, you’re never so indispensable that you couldn’t be replaced tomorrow – or so, at least, convention has it. But there’s one man at Westminster to whom convention rarely applies, and that’s why the multiple funding scandals now engulfing Nigel Farage are such a watershed moment in British politics. For without him – should it ever come to that – what exactly would be left of Reform UK?

We’re getting ahead of ourselves here, obviously. But no further ahead than most of Westminster, now agog with speculation over Farage’s future. The parliamentary standards commissioner has yet to rule on whether the Reform leader should have declared the £5m the Guardian revealed he had taken from the British-Thai crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, never mind the extra wedge he is now alleged to have received from “Posh George” Cottrell, a longstanding sidekick formerly jailed for wire fraud in the US. (For the record, Farage insists he broke no rules because he wasn’t active in politics at the time, though the Cottrell money was allegedly spent in part on staff to beef up Farage’s social media, and MPs are obliged to declare significant benefits of a non-personal nature for a year prior to getting elected.) Perhaps the commissioner’s ruling, when it comes, can help shed some light on whether Farage simply has a lot of rich friends anxious for him to live his best life and perfectly oblivious to what he could do for them in power, or whether something rather seedier might have been going on.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Ben Jennings on the England football team in the World Cup – cartoon

Continue reading...

Trump plugs Dell at first-ever White House opening bell, sending shares soaring

Trump rang the bell in the Oval Office to open Monday's trading as he launched investment accounts for babies born from 2025 through 2028.  

Canada to buy 12 hi-tech German submarines after bidding war

TKMS beats South Korean rival to multibillion-dollar contract that will deepen Canada’s Nato ties

Canada has selected a German consortium to build a dozen cutting-edge submarines in one of the country’s largest-ever defence contracts that will further deepen its Nato ties before a crucial summit this week.

On Monday the prime minister, Mark Carney, announced the winner of a tightly contested battle for the lucrative government contract to replace its fleet of ageing, secondhand subs, most of which are undergoing maintenance.

Trump defends call urging Balogun red card review: 'It wasn't a foul'

"I didn't know what the hell a red card was," said Trump, who called FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the suspension of Folarin Balogun.

‘It’s more than just fairy smut’: Inside the UK’s first romantasy bookshop

Between enemies-to-lovers and ‘shadow daddies’, BookTok has fallen in love with the spicy stories combining romance and fantasy. But there is more to the subgenre than sex, say the fans who queued for hours outside the brick-and-mortar Oxford store

‘We left Warrington at 5.15am this morning to get here,” Emma tells me, standing in a queue that stretches down Walton Street. It is just after 9am on a Saturday in Oxford, the students are still in bed and the tourists have yet to descend on the city, but this corner of Jericho is already buzzing.

Oxford is rarely short of literary pilgrims. Every year, visitors flock to the colleges and libraries that shaped writers including JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and Iris Murdoch. But this crowd is here for something a little different. Instead of queueing for the Bodleian, they’re swapping recommendations for dragon riders and faerie kingdoms. Women clutch tote bags emblazoned with quotes like “hot girls read smut”, and compare their favourite “morally grey” heroes.

Microsoft to cut more than 3,000 jobs from ailing Xbox unit

Microsoft moves to slash costs as the video game industry faces what the tech giant calls the "most severe hardware crisis in its history."

Jonathan Anderson delivers high-concept Dior collection that celebrates the sculptural

Hot on heels of creating Taylor Swift’s wedding dress, designer brings his re-energising razzmatazz to Paris catwalk

The one person in the fashion industry who doesn’t want to talk about Taylor Swift’s as-yet-unrevealed wedding dress is the man who actually knows what it looks like. “It was a big honour,” was all that Dior’s Jonathan Anderson would say about dressing America’s de facto royal wedding. “But no, I can’t tell you anything about it. It will all come out in due course. It was a joy to work with her and we became very good friends. It is an emotional thing, doing someone’s wedding.”

Instead, Anderson wanted to talk about a very different American artist, sculptor Lynda Benglis, whose sensual slumped hunks of smelted metal inspired his haute couture collection. A wooden pavilion built for the show in the gardens of the Rodin Museum was soundtracked with the flutter of paper fans along the front row, and the haughty silhouettes of couture seemed liquefied in the city heat. A skirt of silver-foiled petals lapped and shimmered like molten lava. A tailored Bar jacket trailed threads of chiffon at the hem like drips of ice-cream down a cone.

How to start volunteering: ‘There are roles to fit all interests and skill sets’

Common misconceptions are that you don’t have the right skills, or you need to make a huge time commitment

Many people want to do good in the world. They want to connect and give back to their communities. But volunteering, much like Sunday meal prep or morning meditations, often ends up at the bottom of the to-do list – a nice idea we’ll get to when we have more time.

“For many people, volunteering is something they feel positively about, but don’t always prioritize or think they have time for,” says Matt Bertram, vice-president of volunteer services for the American Red Cross.

How to start meditating

How to start weightlifting

How to start budgeting

How to start running

Uefa has put European football on war footing with Fifa over Balogun decision | Matt Hughes

European governing body’s dramatic move could have major implications for the future of the sport

Perhaps the only globally renowned figure who has been more conspicuous by his absence at this World Cup tournament than Donald Trump is the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, although both men have more than made up for their silence over the past 24 hours.

By endorsing a statement in which Uefa accused Fifa of crossing “a red line” in making the “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” decision to lift the USA striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension for the last-16 tie with Belgium on Monday, Ceferin has effectively put European football on a war footing with the world governing body, a dramatic move that could have major implications for the future of the sport.

Man sues DHS after agents tracked him down for sending a scathing email to ICE

Federal agents tried to track David Streever to his home and hotel, and left him a warning notice that a critical email he sent the former head of ICE may have been illegal. Now he's suing.

Chalant dating: what Taylor Swift can teach us about finding true love

Nonchalance is out, as dating apps report a surge of interest in its opposite. So be more like the world’s most famous new bride, and wear your passions on your sleeve

Name: Chalant dating.

Age: New as a concept.

Wildfires rage across southern Europe, forcing thousands to flee homes

Tour de France spectator ban as country along with Spain, Portugal and Greece faces ‘powder keg’ after heatwave

• Europe live – latest updates

Wildfires raging across southern Europe have forced thousands to flee their homes and prompted officials to ban spectators from a stage of the Tour de France, amid warnings of “powder keg” conditions after a record-breaking early summer heatwave.

Hundreds of firefighters are tackling blazes that have burned through almost 20,000 hectares (49,500 acres) in Portugal, Spain, France and Greece. Strong winds are forecast to fan the flames and temperatures are expected to rise again this week.

Italy ordered to compensate woman after allegations of rape by partner dismissed as ‘normal’

ECHR rules that prosecutor’s remarks perpetuated ‘sexist stereotypes’ and downplayed gender violence

The European court of human rights has ordered the Italian state to pay compensation to a woman whose allegations of repeated rape by her partner were dismissed by a prosecutor as “normal” for men who struggle to overcome resistance from “tired” women.

The court ruled that the remarks perpetuated “sexist stereotypes” and downplayed gender violence, resulting in the woman being subjected to further victimisation.

A job that changed me: I was a music festival artist liaison. At 22 with a walkie-talkie in hand, I’ve never felt more powerful

Our job was to prepare dressing rooms with the bands’ alcohol. The musicians tended to be gentle and kooky but their managers were pushy

My friend Hannah and I scored a job working in the “artist liaison” team at a music festival in 2004. We were both Australians, living in a share house in London, and our role was to manage backstage dressing rooms and keep the artists both happy and under control.

I was 22, with a walkie-talkie in one hand and the keys to a sea container full of alcohol in the other, and I’ve never felt more powerful.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

"Very unhealthy" pollution levels recorded in D.C. after July 4th fireworks

A "purple" air quality alert was issued for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas, on Sunday, meaning pollution reached levels considered "very unhealthy."

You can now start contributing to a Trump Account. Here's what to know.

Starting July 4, people can deposit money into the new tax-deferred investment accounts, with eligible children receiving a $1,000 government contribution.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (July 5)

A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.

Militant LGBTQ+ rights group 'the Lavender Panthers' was founded on this day in 1973

"Reverend Ray" Broshears founded the queer vigilante group the Lavender Panthers in 1973. The group's impact is still felt today.

Record heat, crowds drive offseason boom in international travel

Airlines are extending flight schedules to maximize on lucrative international travel.

Historic World Cup furor at 'incomprehensible' FIFA decision to let U.S. forward Balogun play

The Belgian soccer federation is challenging FIFA's ruling to let Balogun play despite getting a red card in his previous game. Belgium's statement came just 11 hours before kickoff in Seattle. European soccer body UEFA criticizes FIFA's "incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision."

EasyJet agrees to $6.7 billion takeover by U.S. private equity firm

U.K. budget airline has struck a deal to be acquired after rejecting four previous offers by the American investment firm.

GB News co-owner ‘cashing in on climate chaos’ after leap in fossil fuel investments, critics say

Exclusive: Campaigners argue news channel’s attacks on climate action ‘work in financial interests’ of Sir Paul Marshall

The hedge fund run by the co-owner of GB News almost tripled its investments in fossil fuel companies in the first quarter of 2026 to $2.8bn (£2.1bn), the Guardian can reveal.

Critics have accused Sir Paul Marshall of “cashing in on climate chaos” and have claimed the news channel, which frequently attacks climate science and action, was “working in its owner’s financial interests”.

‘They had hyped us up so much’: Seattle businesses near World Cup stadium report declining sales

The city’s tourism board estimated 750,000 visitors would visit over the course of the World Cup

As Seattle’s month-long role as a host city for the Fifa Men’s World Cup draws to a close with a knockout match between the United States and Belgium, local match-day scenes, business boosters and media dispatches have projected an image of a sports-fueled boom town.

On match days, hordes of locals and visitors have packed the city’s waterfront and official watch parties, shattering public-transit records and buoying nearby beer sales. Local soccer-focused mainstays like the George & Dragon Pub have reported “incredible” increases in business. And, pointing to positive reporting by the Guardian and other international newspapers, Seattle’s business lobby says the city has “performed very, very well on the world stage”.

‘The song got us signed but I hated it’: how Haircut 100 made Fantastic Day

‘In the early days, we hopped on every bandwagon going – punk, ska, mod, everything. Fantastic Day was always there, just in different styles. The original was more Talking Heads. I preferred that’

If I’d been sitting down when I wrote Fantastic Day, it would have been a different song, but I was standing up in front of a chocolate-brown wall with the names of all my favourite punk bands scribbled on it. I was envisioning the future. It was 1978, and my family had moved across London to a place called the Ski Club of Great Britain where my parents ran the bar. We lived in the basement and I had a tiny room that was like a ship’s cabin.

Arsenal sign prolific Hoffenheim forward Selina Cerci; Kaneryd leaves Chelsea for Lyonnes

• Slegers says Germany forward will be ‘great addition’

• OL Lyonnes confirm signing of Chelsea’s Kaneryd

The Arsenal head coach, Renée Slegers, has said Selina Cerci is a “great addition” after the Germany forward joined the club from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Cerci scored 34 goals in 47 appearances for Hoffenheim in two seasons. She becomes the second player Arsenal have signed from the Frauen Bundesliga this summer, following Georgia Stanway from Bayern Munich, also on a free transfer.

Dalai Lama’s birthday and England beat Mexico: photos of the day – Monday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Silverstone anticlimax threatens to send F1 back to the drawing board on rules

Fans were denied thrilling finale as Charles Leclerc won behind safety car but there are no easy solutions

The British Grand Prix ending under the safety car and denying a potentially thrilling finale was a controversial, but also complicated incident. It raised issues from the sport’s past and questions over what it may yet address for the future.

The Silverstone victor, Charles Leclerc, of course said he would rather have done it in more style than with taking the flag behind the safety car. The scenario does not happen often, but whenever it does, almost no one finds it a satisfactory way to conclude a race.

Teen describes seaplane's rough landing in NYC's East River: "I thought we were going to drown"

The FAA is investigating after a hard landing by a seaplane that splashed down in the East River off Midtown Manhattan. Eight people were on board, including a 16-year-old who described the terrifying moment.

Versant agrees to buy golf simulator company Full Swing for $530 million

The deal for Full Swing will expand Versant's nontraditional media assets in an effort to diversify revenue from cable television.

Moles of Venezuela: the amateur rescuers digging and delving through the post-quake rubble

Volunteer force flocks to devastated region, infiltrating collapsed buildings with little more than hand tools

As the sun rose above Venezuela’s shattered northern coast, a motorbike mechanic nicknamed Culebrita (Little Snake) lowered himself into a chaotic mesh of concrete and steel and began crawling towards his objective.

“I’m not afraid – but you need to be brave to do this,” said Darwin Rodríguez, a slender 32-year-old who earned the serpentine moniker because of his ability to slither in and out of minuscule spaces.

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for prawn and feta saganaki salad | Quick and easy

This summery dish takes the spicy seafood and cheese of a meze favourite and works them into a filling, tomato-rich salad

If you have spent any time in Greece, chances are you’ll have tried prawn saganaki. It’s a much-loved dish, especially across the islands in summer. Featuring juicy king prawns that are pan-roasted with tomato and a little chilli, then finished with feta, it’s something of an anomaly where the marriage of seafood and cheese are undisputed. I adore these as part of a meze, with fresh bread to mop up the sweet, spicy and feta-laced juices. However, here I’ve taken the key flavours of prawn saganaki and turned them into something a little more robust: a panzanella-style salad.

AI surveillance is being supercharged – and it will chill social progress | Bruce Schneier and Jon Penney

These systems will soon be able to track our public and private lives. But we can make the policy choices to reject it

In the near future, AI-powered surveillance systems will be able to track everything we do in public, and much of what we do in private. And if we do something wrong – shoplift, litter, jaywalk, you name it – the system will notice, retain it, tie it to your official government record, communicate that fact to you, and provide real-time alerts to any relevant authorities … and maybe also to the general public.

Think of these systems as automated speed cameras, but on steroids. Only they’ll enforce not just speed limits, but any other rule you can imagine. And you won’t receive a ticket weeks later by mail; you’ll be informed about and fined for your violation immediately.

Sandro Tonali seals £92.5m move to Tottenham on back of ‘magic’ sales pitch

• Club record signing wowed by Roberto De Zerbi’s plans

• Wages could rise to £275,000-a-week over six-year deal

Sandro Tonali has completed a record-breaking transfer to Tottenham from Newcastle for an initial £92.5m, the Italian claiming he was powerless to resist Roberto De Zerbi’s “magic” sales pitch.

“I spoke to the head coach [De Zerbi] for close to two hours about the club, the fans, the stadium and our football. It was like magic because I knew immediately I had to sign for Tottenham. I can’t wait to start the season,” said Tonali, whose fee could potentially rise to £100m should Spurs achieve serial Champions League qualifications, something that would also see the midfielder’s wages rise to around £275,000-a-week over a six-year contract.

Millions brace for flooding after deadly heat, storms damper July 4th celebrations

While millions of Americans across the Northeast experienced record-setting temperatures, thunderstorms in the Midwest downed trees, ruptured power lines and made transportation treacherous.

The Guest review – Trine Dyrholm pulls out all the stops as a bipolar mother in dysfunctional family drama

Karlovy Vary film festival
Writer-director Mads Mengel’s film about a seaside christening disrupted by a previously shunned relative is shot in the spirit of Dogme 95

Danish actor Trine Dyrholm gives a magnetic performance with all guns blazing in this intensely painful, uncomfortable but also sometimes uncomfortably funny film from writer-director Mads Mengel; it is about a dysfunctional family and is shot in a freewheeling handheld style with lots of looming extreme closeups, a film in the spirit of Thomas Vinterberg’s Dogme 95 classic Festen.

Karl (Simon Bennebjerg) and Emilie (Mette Klakstein) are a young Danish couple with a new baby, and have just arrived at a hip seaside hotel where they are hosting a secular-humanist christening “naming ceremony“ for a large crowd of relatives, one of whom has actually brought along a guitar to perform a song for the infant - a rather Richard Curtis touch. Karl’s sister (Josephine Park) is there, and so are Emilie’s parents (Petrine Agger and Peter Gantzler). The one person who isn’t is Karl’s formidable, emotionally volatile mother Vibeke (played by Dyrholm) who has bipolar disorder and has already been sectioned once.

Air pollution may cause childhood obesity by disrupting impulse control, study finds

Babies exposed to higher levels of neurotoxin more likely to have difficulty controlling impulses later, research shows

Exposure to common air pollution may cause childhood obesity because it affects children’s ability to control impulse, new first-of-its-kind peer-reviewed research finds.

Particular matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is a neurotoxin that has been linked to obesity, and Mt Sinai researchers say they have for the first time identified impulse control as a potential pathway. The study found that babies exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 during their first year of life were more likely to develop difficulties with controlling impulses later in childhood.

He may be the king, but is Charles also a bit of a traitor? Dear reader, you decide | Ravi Holy

Britain’s religious right is fuming over a document suggesting the monarch wants to be defender of all faiths. I’m with Charles: what does that make me?

We need to talk about King Charles and specifically this: is the British monarch basically a traitor? Dr Gavin Ashenden is a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, and he says he may be. The king is attempting to change the job description of the British monarch from “defender of the faith” to the more inclusive “protector of the space for faith within the multifaith nation”, and you can see why someone who regularly appears on GB News to lament the “woke takeover” of the church and who suggests that Islam is inherently and uniquely violent would object to this. And then some.

“While the monarch cannot technically be a traitor, we might take refuge in grammar and find that the verb carries our feelings even if the noun cannot,” spluttered Ashenden. “Parliament and the oath it presented to the king as a condition of being crowned are betrayed; the Church of England is betrayed. The constitution is betrayed; Anglicans are specifically betrayed. And Christians in general will legitimately feel abandoned at the very least. Some of them too will feel betrayed.”