England v Argentina: World Cup 2026 semi-final – live

⚽ Kick-off in Atlanta is 3pm EST/8pm BST/5am AEST
⚽ The semi-final – in pictures | Golden Boot | Player guide

England’s defenders will face an extreme challenge when they come up against Lionel Messi in their World Cup semi-final. It is not just that he is the greatest player of all time but the almost unique way in which he plays.

The 39-year-old is renowned for ambling around for much of a game, saving his energy for when truly required. It makes him incredibly difficult to defend against. Messi finds pockets of space that appear harmless when the ball is not in his orbit, but he springs to life when an opportunity to produce presents itself.

US military announces another wave of strikes against Iran as Trump says ‘they better behave’ – Middle East crisis live

US strikes Iran for fourth consecutive day as Iran deputy foreign minister says interim deal all but ‘dismantled’

• Trump again threatens to strike Iran’s power plants amid impasse over strait of Hormuz

For a second day in a row, US strikes targeted Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant, according to the state news agency IRNA quoting a local official.

“In continuation of the brutality of the American enemy, three points in the city of Bushehr were attacked today,” Mohammad Mozaffari, the governor of Bushehr, was quoted as saying.

In the recent attacks on the southern part of the country, more than 30 civilians lost their lives. While expressing our condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families, we honour the memory of the fallen. The government will stand by the people with all its might. The south of Iran is the beating heart of this land. The south of Iran, the soul of Iran.”

United earnings top estimates but airline expects $6 billion in added fuel costs

United reported higher revenue for premium, corporate and no-frills basic economy tickets and higher revenue for both domestic and international trips.

SpaceX shares slide below IPO price for first time as surge fizzles

Shares fall below $135 price after firm completed biggest ever IPO and made Elon Musk world’s first trillionaire

SpaceX shares dropped below their initial public offering price for the first time on Wednesday, just over a ⁠month after the rockets-to-AI firm completed ⁠the biggest IPO ever and ​made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

The shares slid 1.5% to $134, falling below the $135 IPO price and well below last month’s high that briefly propelled the company’s market valuation above those of Silicon Valley giants Microsoft and Amazon, firms with longer ⁠public track records and stronger financial results.

Maltese politicians ‘involved’ in plot to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, court hears

Former economy minister Chris Cardona and ex-chief of staff Keith Schembri named as being involved in 2017 murder of journalist

Two political figures who previously held powerful government roles in Malta were accused of plotting to kill the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during court testimony on Wednesday.

The allegations, against a former economy minister and a former chief of staff to the prime minister, were made during a chaotic day at the courts of justice in Valletta, where the businessman Yorgen Fenech is on trial for ordering the assassination of Caruana Galizia in 2017.

Wildfires expose millions in Midwest, Northeast to dangerous smoke

Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week.

Trump's pick to head national intelligence, Jay Clayton, won't tell senators Biden won the 2020 election

The Senate Intelligence Committee is considering Jay Clayton's nomination to be the director of national intelligence.

Kylian Mbappé feels sands of time shifting as France suffer fresh World Cup angst

France’s captain has played with a sense of unfinished business but he will be 31 when the next World Cup begins

It was only last month that Kylian Mbappé suggested all roads may lead to Florida. He was in sufficiently mischievous mood to reveal David Beckham had been chewing his ear off about a move to Major League Soccer, dangling the prospect of a reunion with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.

“We will see, I don’t know,” he said. “The American culture is different. There are no limits to ambitions, I like it.”

NYPD officer says Brooklyn Bridge rescue happened on 3rd day with elite unit

Cristian Yepes was on his first week with the NYPD's elite Emergency Service Unit when he helped rescue a woman on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Blanche reiterates "anti-weaponization" fund is "dead" at confirmation hearing

"It is a moot issue, meaning there is no weaponization fund. The weaponization fund is dead," Blanche told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Venezuelan man becomes 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year

Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, 45, found ‘unresponsive’ while being transferred between detention facilities in Georgia

Another person has died in federal immigration custody this week in Georgia, officials announced on Wednesday. His is the 22nd death in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody this year.

Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, a 45-year-old Venezuelan man, died on Monday morning while being transferred between detention facilities in Georgia. In a press release, ICE said Arenas-Silva was arrested last Thursday and had been detained at the Irwin county detention center, a privately run facility in Georgia. He was being transferred to another ICE facility, the Folkston ICE processing center, when he was found “unresponsive” in a transport bus. ICE said the “suspected” cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Warsh vows to tackle inflation in first testimony as Fed chairman

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh told the House Financial Services Committee that the central bank has "no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation."

Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh's testimony to Senate banking committee hits on economy, interest rates

Part of congressionally mandated Capitol Hill appearances for the central bank leader, Warsh spoke Tuesday to the House Financial Services Committee.

Trump relished in being compared to dictators like Hitler and Stalin, journalist says

The New York Times journalist Jonathan Swan says the president is fixated on becoming a "great man of history" during his second term. Swan's new book, written with Maggie Haberman, is Regime Change.

Todd Blanche says he has 'full faith' in Kash Patel as FBI director

Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche previously served as a criminal defense lawyer for President Donald Trump.

Germany warns US against election interference after it announces grants scheme

State department says plan will provide funding to ‘address national sovereignty, migration, censorship and lawfare’

Friedrich Merz has warned Donald Trump’s administration against interfering in German elections after the US state department announced a scheme to fund Maga-aligned causes in Europe.

The German chancellor was responding to a new US initiative offering grants of up to $3m (£2.2m) for European charities, thinktanks and individuals.

Hassett sees no 'excuse' to raise rates, says Warsh will push Fed to 'right answer'

Hassett, on CNBC, credited President Donald Trump's policies after the latest consumer price index reading came in much lower than expected.

Amazon senior cloud executive departs after 18 years

Brown helped launch one of AWS' oldest services and also oversaw its compute and machine learning units.

Houston demands action after killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo: ‘ICE hunts us like animals’

Community groups are demanding action from the city’s mayor and Texas’s Republican congressional delegation

More than 100 people filled the council chamber at Houston city hall on Tuesday, spilling into the hallways as they waited their turn to address the mayor, John Whitmire, and the rest of the city council. Outside, a crowd gathered on the plaza. Their chants of “Do your job! Do your job!” carried through the chamber walls.

Nearly all were there to demand the same thing: accountability for the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Blanche faces questions on DOJ fund, Epstein files at Senate confirmation hearing

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing to lead the Justice Department in a permanent capacity.

Senators introduce bipartisan plan to tackle Social Security insolvency

The Promise Act would establish a legislative procedure with the goal of preserving Social Security's trust funds for the next 50 years.

Trump rails against New York’s statewide datacenter moratorium

AI-friendly president shared a post saying governor Kathy Hochul should scrap the one-year policy ‘IMMEDIATELY’

Donald Trump railed against the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, for pausing the construction of large new datacenters, the resource-intensive facilities that power artificial intelligence.

New York became the first US state to enact a moratorium on new datacenters on Tuesday, when Hochul signed an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on so-called “hyperscale” datacenters.

Extreme temperature warnings in place as ‘heat dome’ bakes US

Warnings about dangerous, unhealthy air also extended from Minnesota to New York as wildfires rage in Toronto

Extreme heat warnings are in place for large swaths of the United States this week, as an unusual weather pattern eclipses record temperature highs.

In Billings, Montana, residents experienced a sweltering 111F (43.9C) on Sunday, the hottest day in its history. Salt Lake City in Utah also hit an all-time record high on Sunday at 109F. Boston has seen more 90F days than average, according to NPR station WBUR-FM.

In this star-powered World Cup, Spain show value of collective and control | Sid Lowe

Luis de la Fuente’s final-bound team have been fuelled by togetherness and a commitment to each other that goes back a long way

On the way out of the dressing room in Arlington, Luis de la Fuente gathered his “family” and delivered one last message before the World Cup semi-final against France. He had long known what he was going to say, if not exactly how – it’s what he has been saying for 50 days and more. “I’ll tell them that this is a unique stage, the kind of moment that may never be repeated again, and that we have to be ourselves,” he had suggested 18 hours earlier; now that idea crystallised in a line. “We’re facing one of the best lineups in the world,” the Spain coach told them, “but we’re the best team in the world.”

By the time they made their way back in again, a voice was heard above the shouts, another line to encapsulate it all, to define this. It belonged to Marc Cucurella and it said: “What a fucking recital!” A call came in to De la Fuente, King Felipe on the phone saying pretty much the same thing, if a little more politely. On went the music, Jamaican (Bam Bam) blasting out, pizza was passed around, and they bounced about. Some did, anyway. Some just sat there taking in what they had done. “It was written: we started in Atlanta and we end in New York,” Dani Olmo said, but a semi-final is not supposed to be like this.

Trump overturns pause of ICE vehicle stops implemented after deadly shootings

Neither of the victims of the ICE shootings in Maine or Texas were the target of enforcement operations, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Food supplements could help bees cope with climate crisis, research suggests

Insects in study fared better in cold when given a probiotic and prebiotic mix alongside their usual sugar diet

Food supplements for honeybees could help the insects better withstand temperature stresses linked to a changing climate, early research suggests.

Scientists found that worker bees fed a mixture of probiotics and inulin, a plant-derived prebiotic, survived prolonged cold exposure better than bees given an ordinary sugar diet.

Todd Blanche downplays Trump alliance in confirmation hearing

President’s pick for attorney general faces tough questions over purging of career prosecutors, January 6 and Epstein

Todd Blanche sought to downplay his close relationship with Donald Trump, tried to distance himself from decisions regarding January 6 rioters, and defended his handling of files regarding Jeffrey Epstein as well a settlement agreement that created a $1.8bn slush fund and giving the president and his family immunity from audits during his confirmation hearing to be the next attorney general in front of the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday.

Blanche served as Trump’s personal attorney before being tapped to be the deputy attorney general – the No 2 position at the justice department at the start of last year. He has been serving as the acting attorney general since April, when Trump fired Pam Bondi, and has amped up Trump’s retribution agenda.

Florence Welch’s mother says cuts to arts and humanities ‘absolutely tragic’

Exclusive: Prof Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor of Bristol University, believes her daughter’s success shows value of arts education

One of Britain’s leading university vice-chancellors has described sweeping cuts to arts and humanities across the sector as “absolutely tragic”, citing her famous daughter as an example of the value of a creative arts education.

Prof Evelyn Welch, the vice-chancellor of Bristol University and incoming chair of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, is the mother of Florence Welch, the singer-songwriter from Florence + the Machine.

Save the Children clashes with Labour after accusing Starmer of ‘complicity’ in Gaza deaths

Government – which provides significant portion of charity’s funding – is understood to have demanded an explanation

The charity Save the Children has angered the government with a social media post marking Keir Starmer’s impending exit from Downing Street.

The organisation suggested on X that the outgoing prime minister was complicit in the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Israel-Gaza war.

Pete Hegseth says soldiers over age 30 to be screened for testosterone deficiency

US defense secretary unveils plan that will work to ensure service members have the ‘right testosterone levels’

Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the Department of Defense will offer testosterone deficiency screening for soldiers 30 and older.

The US defense secretary unveiled plans for a new screening program for testosterone deficiency among troops that will work to ensure service members have the “right testosterone levels” to perform at their optimal conditions in a video posted to X.

New York Fed President Williams says inflation has peaked, rates 'well positioned'

Williams cited five reasons why he expects the latest price surge has run its course.

Ella Baron on Nigel Farage and the World Cup – cartoon

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Search continues for three people missing after Alcatraz boat disaster

One person dead after pontoon boat involved in memorial service capsized in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday

Rescuers were still searching for three missing people on Wednesday after a boat involved in a memorial service sank in the cold, fast-moving waters of San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, authorities said.

At least one person died and 16 people were rescued after the boat capsized on Tuesday afternoon in what witnesses described as “rough seas”, San Francisco’s fire chief, Dean Crispen, said. He said the passengers on board were mostly family members, and that a dog also died.

The Guardian view on Keir Starmer’s farewell: a dignified departure and a necessary one | Editorial

The outgoing prime minister was on good form during his sometimes emotional last PMQs. But Labour MPs were right that change was needed

Mercifully for a prime minister whose defenestration was swift and brutal after Labour’s catastrophic local election results in May, Sir Keir Starmer’s valedictory week has offered several opportunities to point to what he got right. Sir Keir’s steadfast record in corralling international support for Ukraine – and ensuring Britain stayed out of Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran – will be looked on favourably by history. A minute’s applause in Paris on Monday, from leaders of the “coalition of the willing” countries, was well deserved.

On Tuesday in the House of Commons, Andy Burnham paid tribute to the outgoing prime minister for his role in drafting the bill that finally became the Hillsborough law this week. On Wednesday, serendipitously, the England team’s World Cup exploits allowed Sir Keir to indulge his passion for football during his final prime minister’s questions.

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.

Fed Chairman Warsh says he meets 'often' with Trump administration, defends independence

Kevin Warsh said Wednesday that he speaks with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent frequently outside their regular weekly meetings.

At his final PMQs, Starmer soaked up the love from all sides – and even some tenderness from Kemi

It wasn’t his performances on Wednesday lunchtimes that did for the ultimate mid-table PM – it was all the other stuff

Who would have thought it? Most of us would have put money on Kemi Badenoch failing to read the room for Keir Starmer’s last ever prime minister’s questions. Not a bit. From her opening tribute to Ann Widdecombe to her final gags, Kemi was the model of warmth, generosity and tenderness. Pitch perfect. Not a word out of place. So much so that you couldn’t help wondering if the real Kemi had been locked up in her office and her minders had sent a doppelganger out to the Commons. If so, it would be lovely if we could see more of her body double.

There were loud cheers from the Labour benches as Keir made his way past cabinet colleagues to his place on the frontbench. It’s one of life’s little tragedies that a prime minister’s popularity peaks when they are on their way out of the job. Suddenly, any misgivings that MPs might have over their leader’s management of the country are forgiven. It’s like falling for an ex all over again. Which, on balance, is something best avoided. Things tend to get messy quite quickly.

‘Zara death pants’: are these the world’s most dangerous trousers?

Wide-legged and flowing, they are causing a storm on social media, with people posting videos of the fabric getting caught in escalators and causing painful trips

Name: “Zara death pants.”

Appearance: Flowing, wide-legged, with a high waist, elastic waistband and front pockets.

IRS chief Frank Bisignano will lead Trump Accounts expansion

The Treasury Department is putting a top official in charge of the new program as it enrolls millions of families.

Social media curfew for teens: is it pointless? - The Latest

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds face an overnight social media curfew in an extension of the government’s social media ban for under-16s.

Under the plan, aimed at reducing online harms, certain apps would be blocked by default from midnight to 6am.

But the curfew will not be mandatory and teenagers can opt out, so will it achieve anything?

Annie Kelly speaks to social affairs correspondent Jessica Murray

Revealed: Farage’s £5m gift came after saying he needed ‘a million a year’ to stand as MP

Politician spoke to senior figures in Reform in March 2024 about covering lost earnings, sources tell the Guardian

Nigel Farage told senior figures in Reform UK he would need “a million a year” to cover lost earnings if he stood for parliament in the 2024 general election, sources have told the Guardian, raising further questions about why he was given £5m by a crypto billionaire.

Sources say the discussion took place in March 2024 – shortly before the undeclared gift was made by Christopher Harborne on 5 April, according to the Thailand-based crypto billionaire’s lawyers.

Here's what the Common Cents Act means for businesses, consumers

New law aims to address how businesses and consumers should transact amid the phase-out of the penny.

Cyclospora outbreak leaves consumers guessing which foods are safe

Officials are still searching for the source of the outbreak, prompting consumers to seek advice on social media about which foods to avoid.

Backyard Biennial: East review – this morose and meaningless exhibition gave me a migraine

Whitechapel Gallery, London
I feel bad for the artists whose work has been crowbarred into a wonky show about migration, protest, climate and identity

It’s rare that an exhibition is so bad you feel compelled to text a friend saying “you wouldn’t believe the garbage I just saw” as soon as you get out. And if you can walk around this badly explained, undercontextualised, barely linked, poorly thought through mess of a show without getting a migraine, you have a stronger constitution than me.

This is an exhibition about east London. Or maybe it’s about Britishness. Or migration. Or the climate crisis. Or music. Or global trade. Whitechapel Gallery doesn’t seem to really know, so what chance do the rest of us have of figuring it out? The gallery would argue it’s about all of these things; I’d say it manages to be about none of them.

Wildfires in Ontario make Toronto air quality worst in world

Environment Canada has issued health warnings after sky over city turns yellow

Smoke from more than 100 active wildfires in northern Ontario have made Toronto’s air quality the current worst in the world and caused yellow, smoky air in cities across the north-east US.

Environment Canada issued health warnings on Wednesday after the sky over country’s largest city turned a sickly yellow and was ranked the worst in the world according to IQAir, the Swiss technology company that racks global air quality.

‘What’s the point?’ Teenagers give their verdict on Britain’s social media curfew

All the young people the Guardian spoke to disagreed with aspects of the government’s proposed block

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds in Britain are to be encouraged to observe a midnight to 6am social media curfew but will be able to opt out by changing their account settings.

From next spring, they will be urged to refrain from using certain apps, with the block being switched on by default. But the curfew will not be mandatory and can be overridden.

Wærenskjold wins fastest ever Tour de France stage in frenzied sprint to Nevers

• Alaphilippe gets in breakaway before being reeled in

• Pidcock’s rollercoaster ride continues on return to Tour

The records keep tumbling in the 2026 Tour de France. After race leader Tadej Pogacar shattered the record for the fastest climb of the Col du Tourmalet, Norwegian sprinter Søren Wærenskjold won the fastest-ever road stage, in a frenzied sprint into Nevers.

Pogacar revealed his stage had not been entirely straightforward. “I ran over a loose bottle with my front wheel and almost crashed,” he said. “I completely shat my pants there. Luckily, I managed to keep my handlebars upright. It’s nice to have days like this, but you still have to keep your focus throughout the stage.”

Clayton faces questions about election integrity, vows to enhance trust in DNI

Clayton, currently the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is expected to succeed Bill Pulte, Trump's controversial acting director of national intelligence.

The Odyssey review – Nolan goes god-tier with breathtaking epic of men, monsters and moral metamorphosis

Doing full justice to the Homeric legend, Christopher Nolan amasses an epic cast to convey the true cost of war with film-making of thrilling ambition

• A classicist’s verdict: soulful hero flatters our times as women and nuance pushed overboard

Christopher Nolan reinvents the Homeric legend as a colossal origin-myth story of postwar disillusion, an epic ordeal of anguish witnessed by the dead and presided over by capricious deities who participate on almost equal terms with the humans. It speaks to the generational pain of PTSD; plenty of soldiers come home in person after any war promptly enough, but arriving back to their prewar state emotionally or spiritually can take years or decades and may never happen at all. The invisible odyssey of anguish is punctuated by flashback episodes, hallucinations, confrontations with the arbitrary gods of dysfunction. And all the time the spouses and children cannot move on with their lives.

This is a film with thrilling ambition, boldness, seriousness, generosity and flair. There are some broad-brush moments in the dialogue, yes, but even these are applied with a muscular flourish. It has gasp-inducing, Imax-sized landscapes of loneliness shot by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema – who, incidentally, avoids the sea’s traditional cliched colour – and full-tilt battle sequences and fight scenes accompanied by the throbbing and thrumming of drums.

Seal pup shot in head, third incident in less than year, hospital says

A three-week-old male harbor seal is in critical but stable condition and undergoing treatment at a Washington state wildlife center.

Unheard David Bowie songs from 1965 to be released – including ones with Jimmy Page on guitar

Compilation entitled David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings will be released in September, collating material from when he recorded as Davy Jones

Unheard 1965 recordings by David Bowie, from when he was starting out in swinging 60s London as Davy Jones, are finally to be released – some featuring a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page.

Before he broke through with 1969’s Space Oddity, and scaled up through The Man Who Sold the World and Hunky Dory towards the explosive impact of his Ziggy Stardust alter ego in 1972, Bowie started out as a very different kind of artist: sharp-suited and coiffured, playing the kind of forthright, blues-influenced, sometimes faintly psychedelic pop-rock that was the hallmark of mid-60s London, from the Beatles to the Small Faces and the Who.

Shakira review – she-wolf roars again in playful victory lap from Colombian superstar

Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey

Ahead of her World Cup final performance, the singer’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour whips through exuberant hits

In the dark of a sold-out Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, a screen lights up on a desert. Around me are girls and their moms in concho shell belts and coined hip scarves, and there are Colombia soccer jerseys and the country’s traditional vueltiao hats as far as you can see. An uncanny CGI figure of Shakira shakes loose the sand. She looks to be covered in a silvery oil slick. I immediately recognize the Shakira of the La Tortura video I saw on MTV’s TRL in 2005, her stomach flickering in fluid, controlled movements. She pounds the sand, and a silver-sequined Shakira emerges, first on screen and then on the floor.

“There’s nothing like when a she-wolf reunites with her pack,” she howls.

Manchester United to target £30m Crysencio Summerville should Marcus Rashford leave

• West Ham winger available for right price after relegation

• Rashford has two years remaining on United contract

Manchester United will turn their attention towards Crysencio Summerville should Marcus Rashford leave this summer, with the West Ham winger’s potential fee around £30m. Summerville is viewed as having the right profile in regards to a left-sided forward to replace the England international.

Since relegation to the Championship, West Ham are open to selling the 24-year-old Dutchman providing they receive a suitable offer. Summerville, who was part of the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign, has three years remaining on his contract.

Hong Kong booksellers arrested for allegedly selling seditious books

Hong Kong was once known for its freedom of publication, but political changes have created a challenging environment for independent bookstores.

Aston Villa sign Emily Ramsey as Bethany England joins Crystal Palace

• Lionesses goalkeeper heading to Villa on a free transfer

• Millie Turner moves to Birmingham City for £100,000

Aston Villa have signed the former Everton goalkeeper Emily Ramsey on a free transfer.

The 25-year-old received a call-up by England in 2023 – as part of the squad that won that year’s invitational Arnold Clark Cup – and in 2021 for a training camp, but is yet to earn a senior cap. Ramsey was a regular in England youth international sides throughout the age groups and is highly admired by Villa.

From racist Bugs Bunny to the bear MPs want to ban: how cartoons have indoctrinated kids for over 100 years

Politicians are claiming that a hit Netflix animation is Russian propaganda aimed at the ‘militarisation of children’. But it’s far from a recent problem – even the CIA has funded kids’ entertainment

When Liberal Democrat MP Tom Gordon spoke earlier this month in the commons of the “militarisation of children”, he wasn’t warning of a generation suddenly taking arms. He was talking about a cartoon bear. Gordon, along with a cross-party group of more than 50 MPs, had written a parliamentary letter urging that an animated children’s show be banned on the basis it is Russian propaganda.

The accused animation is Masha and the Bear, a Russian programme aimed at preschoolers. The show is one of the most popular series on YouTube, and is available in the UK on ITVX and Netflix. The programme follows the adventures of the young, pink-hooded Masha and her brown bear companion in a remote woodland. But MPs – as well as Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation and Estonia’s minister for foreign affairs – see Masha’s use of Soviet-era military costumes as a flex of Russian “soft power”.

Cancer disparities researchers say federal funding changes have disrupted their work

In a survey, 93% of cancer researchers who study disparities said federal policy changes have affected them. Funding is harder to come by and they worry it's slowing progress in their field.

Berlin man charged with 22 counts of raping unconscious women and filming the assaults

Assailant allegedly sedated victims using sleeping tablets and alcohol after meeting them online

A Berlin man has been charged with nearly two dozen counts of raping unconscious women and filming the acts, while investigators believe based on video evidence that the suspect may have attacked up to 60 victims.

In the latest of a series of high-profile cases involving the serial rape of unwitting targets on camera, Berlin prosecutors said they have indicted the 68-year-old German national on 22 counts of sexual assault of 14 women. The man, an electrician, has been in police custody since March.

Fifa hit by injunction in Germany over World Cup ticket resale prices

• Governing body did not appear before court in Frankfurt

• Fifa gets 15% commission from both buyer and seller

Fifa has been hit with an injunction by a German court ordering it to stop “manipulative processes” in the sale of World Cup tickets. The Frankfurt regional court has granted a request for a preliminary injunction from Ticombo, an online ticket resale site based in Germany, which has instructed Fifa to be more transparent regarding its secondary ticketing sales by disclosing the identity and address of any commercial sellers.

The court has ordered Fifa “to cease facilitating ticket sales without informing buyers of the seller’s identity and address [specifically for sellers acting in a commercial capacity] in a timely manner prior to the buyer completing their purchase”.

Will daylight saving time become permanent after House passes bill?

Lawmakers are one step closer to making daylight saving time permanent​ after the House passed a bill with overwhelming support.

A modern odyssey: the archaeologist following Homer’s route on a bicycle

As Christopher Nolan’s star-studded adaptation is released, Australian archaeologist and cyclist Sam Wood has recreated Odysseus’ journey on two wheels

Backpacking around Europe is a rite of passage for many young Australians, but when Sam Wood proposed a trip with his two brothers in 2009, he had something a little more ambitious in mind.

An avid cyclist who studied classical archaeology at the University of Sydney and spent three years working at the British Museum, he suggested retracing the route that the Carthaginian general Hannibal took over the Alps with his war elephants in 218BC.

U.S. Mint to make $1 gold coin with Trump's face on it

It's the latest effort by President Trump to make his mark on Washington, D.C.

Goldman Sachs’ former top lawyer tells House Epstein was a ‘masterful liar’ who used her to bolster his standing

Kathryn Ruemmler said earlier this year she would leave Goldman Sachs at the end of June after fallout over her emails with Jeffrey Epstein.

"Miracle on the Hudson" pilot, Capt. "Sully," shares Alzheimer's diagnosis

Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who famously landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River in 2009, said he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Ilhan Omar introduces resolution urging US to join international criminal court

Exclusive: bill from Democratic lawmaker comes two days after Marco Rubio vowed to dismantle war crimes tribunal

The Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar introduced a resolution on Wednesday urging the United States to join the international criminal court (ICC), marking the first congressional pushback against the Trump administration’s pledge to “systematically disable” the war crimes tribunal through sanctions and diplomatic pressure.

Omar’s bill came two days after Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, vowed to dismantle the court.

Brazilian World Cup legend Jairzinho takes a shot: Michael Donald’s best photograph

‘Nowadays Jairzinho works with kids in the favelas of Rio where the unwritten rule is that visitors have to leave by 5pm. I asked for 10 more minutes and when I turned round, a guy had pulled a gun on my crew’

I’m not a mad football fan. What I most love about the game is its universal appeal – it’s all about a ball crossing a line, and a goal is a goal whether it involves two jerseys in a park or the one that determines the outcome of a World Cup. But when I realised in 2007 that only 58 people had ever scored a goal in a World Cup final and that only 34 of these men were still alive, I thought it would be a great idea to photograph them.

It quickly became apparent that book sales alone would never finance the project – there were only two English players, the rest were in Europe or South America. But a successful pitch to a film producer won me the opportunity to travel to 13 countries with a documentary crew. Over the course of four years, we interviewed every member of the exclusive World Cup club, and I made portraits of them all.

Family says they're forced to sell home to help power data centers

Georgia Power says building a new transmission line will require acquiring more than 300 parcels of land, including residential properties.

Wholesale prices unexpectedly declined 0.3% in June on big drop in gasoline

As with consumer prices, the index benefited from easing energy costs, particularly as oil fell due to the brief pause in tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

George Lucas likens AI sceptics to luddites clinging to horses and carts

Star Wars director calls AI technology ‘the future’ of film-making and says ‘there’s nothing you can do about it’

The Star Wars director, George Lucas, has added his voice to the growing chorus of film-makers receptive to the rising use of AI tools in moviemaking.

Speaking in an interview with A Rabbit’s Foot, Lucas, 82, said: “Artificial intelligence means it’s much easier for us to make movies.”

China's economy grows 4.3% in Q2, slowest since late 2022

Lagging consumer spending and business investment offset the boost from strong exports thanks partly to the boom in artificial intelligence.

86 beams of light and an ICE Out protest: photos of the day – Wednesday

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

Old rivals, new battle: Argentina and England clash in World Cup Semifinal

Old rivals. New stakes. A World Cup final spot on the line. Argentina vs. England.

Zombies, gore and creepy kids – why we can’t stop playing horror games

As global anxieties multiply, ​v​ideo games from Resident Evil to Mouthwashing are providing rich source material to help decode society’s problems

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Horror is so hot right now. There’s Obsession, Evil Dead Burn and Hokum in the cinema, Widow’s Bay, From and Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on TV, and, of course, a rotting smorgasbord of horror games including Resident Evil Requiem (pictured top) and Reanimal, soon to be joined by Silent Hill: Townfall, Silver Pines and Dreadmoor. We’re also seeing weird cross-pollinations, with horror movie studio Blumhouse making games, while games themselves become horror films and the whole backrooms genre infects every medium it touches.

So it was fascinating to attend last week’s horror and gaming conference at Falmouth University, in Cornwall: a gathering of students, researchers and lecturers, all engaged in the academic study of horror games. There were brilliant talks on zombies and posthumanism, the gothic in games, and the role of monstrous little girls in survival horror (there are a lot of them!). Subjects as diverse as masculine fragility, disability and ageing came up; Will Doyle, creative director at Supermassive Games, gave a great keynote on the art of creating horror in games using tools such as revulsion, spatial alienation and the human instinct of apophenia. I learned a lot about theorists such as Julia Kristeva and Mark Fisher, and about the technical similarities between indie horror games and film noir (for example, the use of darkness and creative camera techniques to “hide” budget restrictions). It was incredible fun.

Meloni government vows to press on with electoral reform after losing key vote

Italian opposition calls for elections as ruling coalition faces second major rejection of flagship policies this year

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Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition has pledged to persevere with its flagship plans to overhaul Italy’s electoral system after a parliamentary setback provoked calls for snap elections.

In a secret ballot in the lower house on Tuesday, an amendment to a key aspect of the reforms was defeated by a single vote, with an estimated 20-25 members of the coalition breaking ranks.

House passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent

The measure also allows states to opt out if they take action before the federal law is enacted.

Richard Dadd: the painter whose fantastical vision was unconfined by his 43 years in an asylum

Committed to Bethlem hospital after killing his father in a psychotic episode, Dadd inspired Angela Carter and Queen. Now a new show is exploring his paintings with a more nuanced take on his mental illness

In the autumn of 1843, the influential journal Art-Union mourned “the late Richard Dadd”, an apparently kind and gentle man who a year or so earlier had been a rising star of London’s Royal Academy. Today, Dadd is known, if at all, for having murdered his father while in the grip of severe psychosis, for which he was committed to Bethlem hospital asylum where he passed his remaining 43 years. As Art-Union concluded: “although the grave has not actually closed over him, he must be classed among the dead.”

At Bethlem, Dadd began painting again. Scenes remembered from his trip around the Eastern Mediterranean – when he first began suffering mental distress – were followed by portraiture allegory, satire, biblical scenes and intricately detailed fantasies, among them the unfinished The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, which he painted between 1855 and 1864. By now he was more patient than artist, and the prism of mental illness through which his work came to be understood has never fully shifted.

Officer who rescued woman on Brooklyn Bridge was in first week on elite unit

Officer Cristian Yepes helped to save a woman's life on the Brooklyn Bridge last week. It was only his third day on the job with the NYPD Emergency Service Unit. Anna Schecter reports.

‘We did pull the levers’: emotional Starmer defends his record

In final PMQs, PM offers Burnham – and England team – full support and defends action on NHS waiting lists, child poverty and economy

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Keir Starmer has defended his record as prime minister in an often emotional final outing at prime minister’s questions, which largely avoided political jibes in favour of tributes and questions, many about the World Cup.

Answering the very last question, his voice breaking at times, Starmer paid tribute to those he had worked with over his two years in office, which will end on Monday when he hands over to Andy Burnham.

Cricket World Cup in fresh shake-up with India v Pakistan double on cards

• ICC reveals shape of expanded 2027 14-team tournament

• Only one of three lowest-ranked teams would advance

The men’s Cricket World Cup will undergo yet another revamp when it takes place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year. A convoluted 14-team format has been officially confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), albeit one that trims the competing nations to 12 almost immediately.

While at the last two World Cups the 10 teams played a round-robin league stage that produced four semi-finalists, the expanded 2027 edition will begin with the three lowest-ranked teams out of the 14 qualifiers playing what has been called a “Super Series”. Only one of these teams will progress through to the main event.

Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: forget delicate chains – this summer, make your jewellery big and bold

Fashion is getting braver with accessories again, so lean into it by embracing loud earrings and chunky pendants

This summer, I want jewellery that makes some noise. Real noise – earrings that swish, bangles that clatter – and visual noise as well. Stuff to wear when you want to be seen and heard. The total opposite, in other words, of the jewellery most of us have been wearing lately. Charming, delicate jewellery has become the default. Two necklaces of different lengths on fine chains. One has a heart pendant, the other an initial or a birth stone, am I right? Maybe a curated earlobe of tastefully small mismatched diamond hoops.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this look. It is really nice. In fact, this is exactly the problem.

‘They want to break our will’: Gaza flotilla activist tells of rape in Israeli detention

Anna Liedtke files criminal complaint in Israel over alleged attack by female guards and says abuse was intended to silence campaigners

The third time Anna Liedtke was subjected to an illegal strip-search in Israeli detention, female prison guards forced her on to her knees, covered her mouth to stop her screaming and raped her, according to interviews and a criminal complaint filed in Israel.

She described hearing male guards laughing during the attack, which she believes they watched and may have filmed. It took place in an area separated from the prison hallway by a partially drawn curtain that her attackers had left open.

R&A gets tough: Open fans told ‘abuse players and you’ll be thrown out’

• Staff told to eject hecklers among expected 300,000 fans

• Officials reject Faldo’s calls to fine miscreants $10,000

The R&A has warned spectators who misbehave at the Open that they will be identified and ejected under its new code of conduct.

Mark Darbon, the R&A chair, stopped short of endorsing calls by Sir Nick Faldo, the last Englishman to win the Open, for anyone who abuses a player to also be fined $10,000. But he confirmed that a team of R&A staff, marshals and officials would be monitoring the expected 300,000 spectators to ensure good behaviour.

Greetings from Paris, where an art installation transformed the Pont Neuf into a rocky cave

The oldest bridge in Paris was draped in fabric last month to appear like a mountain cave, in an installation by the artist JR. Unlike a real cave, though, it didn't provide respite from a brutal heat wave.

Midnight social media curfew and limits to infinite scrolling proposed for older UK teens

The U.K. government has proposed new measures to protect older teens on social media, including a midnight curfew and a limit to infinite scrolling.

Mortgage rates rise to highest level in nearly a year, causing homebuyers to pause

Mortgage rates moved higher last week, causing buyers to pull back, but refinancing did see small gains.

Muslim man stabbed multiple times in Utah over his religion, police say

Arrested suspect tells police he ‘intends to kill Muslims’ after alleged attack on kiosk worker at West Valley City mill

A man was arrested in Utah for stabbing a Muslim ⁠man multiple times and ⁠stated that he targeted ​the victim because of the victim’s religion, police said in court records on Tuesday.

Police said the suspect told them he “intends to kill Muslims” and that ⁠he constituted “a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions ... ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events”.

Acting AG Todd Blanche faces a key test. And, ICE pauses most traffic stops

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to appear before the Senate for his confirmation hearing. And, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has paused most traffic stops after recent deadly shootings.

‘More real than anything you’ll see scrolling’: the radical resurgence of UK fanzines, 50 years after punk

Five decades since punk bible Sniffin’ Glue, DIY magazines are in rude, rich health. Their creators talk fandom, community-building and resisting the algorithm

‘The most important part of the word ‘fanzine’ is ‘fan’,” says London-based zine-maker Jon Marsh. Existing outside mainstream media, free from the demands of release cycles and search engine optimisation, music fanzines are obsessions turned into tangible objects; self-published primarily for the maker’s own enjoyment, but with the potential of forging connections with like-minded people.

In the 1970s, punk zines such as Sniffin’ Glue, Alternative Ulster and Ripped & Torn allowed fans to share news and enthusiasm quickly and cheaply. Half a century on, music fanzines are enjoying a resurgence as a form of resistance to algorithm fatigue and the hyper-capitalist music industry. “Digital attention span is at an all-time low,” says hip-hop musician ExP, creator of the West Yorkshire Hip-Hop zine. “You’re almost definitely going to spend more time looking at a zine than anything you see scrolling. It’s more interesting and more real.” In the words of Stephen McRobbie, from indie-pop icons and fanzine regulars the Pastels: “It’s the long way round compared to other media, but the scenery is always better.”

How Democrats’ datacenter push in swing states is risking their midterm hopes

Polls suggest many Democratic voters oppose the projects as party leaders champion AI investment

Sarah Brabbs used to be a fan of Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer.

“I have her book; I appreciated her stewardship and guidance during the pandemic,” Brabbs, who has voted Democrat for basically her entire life, says. “I will never not appreciate who she was during that time.”

How to turn empty broad bean pods into a mouthwatering risotto – recipe | Waste not

Use the whole pod – husks, beans and all – for a rustic, nutritious version of a seasonal favourite

Tom Norrington Davies is a friend, fellow chef and one of the best yoga teachers I know, so you can probably imagine my pleasure on recently coming across his recipe for broad bean and mint risotto, which he wrote for The Eagle Cookbook in 2009. Like many restaurants, this legendary gastropub pods their broad beans to reveal the beautiful green bean inside; this is my zero-waste interpretation.

Alibaba’s U.S.-listed shares rise 4% after Qwen AI set to be integrated in Apple Intelligence

The Cyberspace Administration of China on Wednesday included Apple's AI services on a list of approved providers.

Alzheimer's blood test may show who's likely to develop it in 5 to 10 years

A blood test may predict if apparently healthy older adults are likely to develop Alzheimer's symptoms in the next five or 10 years, researchers say.

How are London City Lionesses able to embark on such a transfer spree?

Many are in awe of the investment that Michele Kang is making into the women’s game. Others, though, are baffled

There is one team whose transfer activity this summer has captured everyone’s attention. London City Lionesses, a club who finished in the bottom half of the second tier a little over two years ago, have stunned the women’s game by signing a flurry of big names, including the Spain stars Alexia Putellas and Mapi León, the former England goalkeeper Mary Earps, and then, on Wednesday morning, the France winger Kadidiatou Diani. It is a startling recruitment drive intent on breaking up the Women’s Super League’s established order.

Reaction has been divided. Many are in awe of the investment that the independent club’s owner, the American businesswoman Michele Kang, is making into the women’s game. Others, including senior staff at lots of rival clubs, are baffled at the idea that one of the league’s smaller teams can afford such world-class signings. They have one key question on their lips: how are London City able to sign all of these top players within the confines of the WSL’s salary cap?

How to keep cool in this year's extreme summer heat even without air conditioning

"Extreme heat" is in the forecast this summer. How do people cope if they don't have air conditioning? Here are suggestions from a heat researcher who grew up in a very hot, AC-less place.

Bite my shiny metal ass! TV’s all-time top robots

From mechanical mutts to android assassins, our cybernetic companions have been entertaining us, their organic overlords, for decades. Here are the 20 best automatons ever to grace the small screen

The robots are coming. And one of them happens to look a lot like Philomena Cunk in a wig. This week sees the arrival of Ann Droid, the BBC’s new odd-couple comedy. Diane Morgan stars as a secondhand elderly care bot, foisted upon Sue Johnston’s sceptical pensioner.

Ann Droid is the latest in a long line of TV tinheads. We tentatively toast the rise of the machines by counting down the all-time Top 20. Stand by, cybernetic selection is now loading …

‘Please don’t lose another pound!’: Ozempic is upending the wedding dress industry

The ubiquity of GLP-1s is wreaking new havoc on bridal designers who must scramble to accommodate rapid weight loss

In bridal stores across the world, solicitous sales assistants are being trained to ask a new, blunt question: “Are you planning on losing a drastic amount of weight?”

Wedding season’s new disruptor is semaglutide, now used by 10% of engaged couples, according to a survey by the wedding planning platform Zola. In the same survey, 42% of couples said the ubiquity of GLP-1s has made them feel they should “look a certain way” for their wedding.

England’s Freeman seeking to silence Pollock and end season of grind on high | Robert Kitson

Northampton Saint is embracing a friendly rivalry with his headline-grabbing teammate when they take on the Pumas

It has been a long road for several of the players who went on the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia last year. They are putting on a professionally brave face, but for some the final weekend of the season cannot come soon enough. Factor in the travel, the training and associated other stresses and strains and the 2025-26 campaign has been relentless from a physical and a mental perspective.

Crunch the numbers before the last hurrah against Argentina on Saturday and it is a wonder many are still standing. Of the English Lions, Henry Pollock is about to participate in his 32nd competitive game while his Northampton teammate Tommy Freeman is poised to play his 29th. Ben Earl and Ellis Genge, assuming their involvement against the Pumas, will be in the same situation with Ollie Chessum one behind.

China’s economy grows at 4.3%, one of its lowest rates on record

Worse-than-expected figures for three months to June come amid concerns over lopsided economy

• Business live – latest updates

China has posted worse-than-expected growth figures for the three months to June as its economy expanded by just 4.3% – one of its lowest quarterly readings on record.

The rate, which came in under the government’s target of 4.5% to 5%, was one of the weakest since reporting on official quarterly GDP figures began in the early 1990s.

Flights grounded at D.C.-area airport due to security concerns for Iraqi leader

The Iraqi leader was in Washington to meet with President Trump.

US trial could reveal who paid hackers to target Exxon climate critics: ‘on the edge of our seats’

Oil giant has denied involvement, but climate activists are closely watching court case against Israeli private investigator for answers

A group of American climate activists are closely watching a US court case that could reveal who hired hackers to target their inboxes a decade ago.

In 2015, a set of explosive media reports revealed that ExxonMobil’s own scientists determined as early as 1982 that the extraction and burning of fossil fuels caused the climate crisis – but Exxon went on to fund climate denial campaigns anyway. The reports prompted attorneys general to investigate the company.

Never mind the garage forecourt – carnations deserve a place in your garden

Easy to grow, hardy and charming, these once-maligned flowers are having a much-deserved comeback

You might not know the term Caryophyllaceae but I guarantee you’d be able to spot a carnation, which is part of this family. Garage forecourt carnations have been having a semi-ironic fashion moment as a cut flower for a while now, but I’m yet to see them making a garden comeback.

I’d always dismissed the whole family as fusty, old-fashioned bedding plants for fussy little gardens. But it turns out that whoever is in charge of the carnation comms is having a good run. I keep seeing them around. Rose campion, another Caryophyllaceae, has even turned up in my garden – or rather, it has survived there. I didn’t plant it, and a photo from last July shows a scorched wasteland (it’s now a haven for moths, grasshoppers and bees, which shows what not mowing can do). But they’re biennial (they take two seasons to get from seed to flower), so I guess it was biding its time. It’s bright pink with a soft grey leaf, and not the kind of thing I’d choose, but I’m enjoying it so much I’ll be encouraging it to self-seed in the wildflower patch.