Belgium 3-2 Senegal (aet): World Cup last 32 – as it happened

Youri Tielemans’ 125th-minute penalty completed an extraordinary comeback and put Belgium into the last 16

“Well, I’m going to come right out and say that I’ve never heard of Sparklehorse,” says Charles Antaki. “There; that’s me disqualified as an aging hipster, or a hipster of any variety. So I looked them up, and there’s a couple of videos online which feature faux-naif montages (at least I assume they are faux), one of them unfortunately featuring many shots of a man in clown make-up wearing a Stetson. Anyway: the music is rather beguiling, in a rather melancholy way. Good for the calm-down after the England excitement and associated hoo-hah.”

If you’re calling me a hipster, Charles, your vocabulary is nowhere near as precise as I thought. As for Sparklehorse, there’s a discordant beauty to his music that I adore. Not to everyone’s taste though.

Last 16 USA/Bosnia and Herzegovina

Quarter-final Spain/Austria/Portugal/Croatia

Semi-final Paraguay/France/Canada/Morocco

USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina: World Cup 2026 last 32 – live

⚽️ Kick-off time: 5pm local/10am AEST/1am BST/8pm EDT
⚽️ Player guide | Golden Boot | Bracket | Mail Beau

And it’s done.

That’s a result that just goes to show how brutal the fates can be. There’s no such thing as karma in soccer. The most impressive team over 90 minutes doesn’t always win. One save or one deflection can make one manager an idiot or a genius.

2 Empire State Building climbers in custody after apparently getting engaged at the top

Two people climbed to the top of New York City's Empire State Building, unfurled a banner, and then apparently got engaged Wednesday afternoon.

This July 4th could be hottest ever in parts of U.S.

Extremely dangerous heat, coupled with humidity, could result in heat index readings of 100 to 115 degrees from the Midwest to the East Coast, forecasters said.

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.

U.S. auto industry faces increased uncertainty without extension of USMCA trade deal

A major issue for automakers is the deal's rules of origin, which determine where a product comes from and which goods are eligible for preferential treatment.

Student drowns in River Wye while on Duke of Edinburgh’s Award trip to Wales

Body of 18-year-old man located after search involving Mountain Rescue, police and the fire service

A student has drowned while on a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) trip in Wales, police have said.

Emergency services were called to the River Wye in Glasbury, Powys on Tuesday evening after it was reported an 18-year-old male had entered the water and could not be found.

Authorities arrest 10 people accused of facilitating sex trafficking in Los Angeles

Prosecutors said members of the a gang targeted about 51 underage girls and women along LA’s Figueroa corridor

Ten people accused of facilitating a sex-trafficking operation that targeted about 51 underage girls and women have been arrested as California authorities conducted their latest operation to curb trafficking along the Figueroa corridor in Los Angeles, according to a Wednesday news release.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that members and associates of the south Los Angeles-based gang the Hoovers acted as pimps, recruiting minors and women, some of whom were runaways or foster kids, with the “false promise” of a better life or with violence into sex work between February 2021 and June 2026.

Ohio authorities rescue 16 children confined to one room for four years

Parents and grandparents charged as police say case in Hamden not human trafficking but ‘intra-family situation’

Sixteen children were rescued from a dilapidated home in rural Ohio after being confined to just one room in “deplorable conditions” for much of the past four years, authorities said on Wednesday.

The children, who officials said are from the same family and were living in squalor with human waste all around, ranged in age from one and a half to 18 and included boys and girls. Some of them were unable to speak and one – an 18-year-old who was developmentally disabled – could not even spell her name.

New Zealand finally gets a Google Maps tool that correctly pronounces Māori placenames

Language commission hails normalisation of te reo Māori after years of work in identifying frequently mispronounced words

For years, Māori placenames have been distorted into nearly unrecognisable sounds by Google Maps in New Zealand. For those with attuned ears, it can be grating or offensive.

Now the Māori language commission – Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – has collaborated with Google to fix it, launching a New Zealand-accented voice for its navigation tool that can correctly pronounce Māori words. It is the culmination of a project that has been years in the making.

Details emerge of Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding events at MSG

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding plans include a rehearsal dinner and a late-night celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City, according to sources familiar with the security planning.

Couples are spending thousands more on weddings. Here's why.

Tariffs, inflation and changing consumer habits are reshaping how much Americans spend to tie the knot.

Two people arrested in apparent marriage proposal atop Empire State Building

The two people also unfurled a large black banner displaying a message of peace atop the New York landmark

Two people have been arrested following an apparent marriage proposal atop the Empire State Building’s spire on Wednesday, after they climbed to the very pinnacle of the New York City landmark – well above the level open to the public.

The two people, both wearing black clothing and who appeared to be masked, also unfurled a large black banner at the top of the skyscraper with the words: “When the power of love beats the love of power the ‌world knows peace.”

U.S. says it won't extend key trade deal with Canada and Mexico

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will remain in effect until it expires in 2036, unless the countries strike another deal to extend it.

Maltese businessman paid hitmen €150,000 to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, jury hears

Yorgen Fenech, heir to property empire, on trial for alleged involvement in murder of journalist, which he denies

One of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen plotted to kill the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, paying €150,000 (£130,000) for three hitmen to carry out the murder, a jury has heard.

Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes the Hilton Malta hotel and casino, is on trial for the 2017 murder.

World Cup could boost the June jobs report by 40,000, Goldman estimates

Nonfarm payrolls are projected to post a gain of 115,000, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

Mirra Andreeva’s Wimbledon hopes dashed by resurgent Krejcikova

• The 2024 women’s singles champion won 4-6, 7-5, 6-4

• Teenager says loss will ‘take some time’ to get over

Four women in the post-1968 Open era have won singles titles on the slow red clay of Roland Garros and ­Wimbledon’s lightning-fast grass before their 20th birthdays. As Mirra Andreeva, the 19-year-old winner of last month’s French Open, walked on to Centre Court here on Wednesday to face Barbora Krejcikova – already a winner of both European grand slams – she had fair hopes of joining Maureen Connolly, Evonne Goolagong, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf on that list.

Andreeva left with those hopes extinguished after a hard-fought three-set success for Krejcikova – the 2024 champion here – 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, but with her reputation as a scrapper and shot-maker much enhanced. She showed many of the attributes she will need to succeed here in the years to come.

What is the "buy, borrow, die" tax strategy Gavin Newsom wants to ban?

As a proposed billionaire tax in California moves forward, Gov. Newsom says other approaches are needed, including closing a tax loophole used by the ultra-rich.

Tuchel delights in ‘shark’ Kane’s predatory goal instinct after vital World Cup double

• Late double rescues England against DR Congo in last 32

• Message to side was: ‘Keep on knocking, knocking’

Thomas Tuchel compared Harry Kane to a shark and said he was proud of England after they set up a last-16 tie against Mexico by ­fighting back from the brink against the ­Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday.

Tuchel, who was staring at an early exit after Brian Cipenga opened the scoring in the seventh minute, was delighted with his side’s refusal to give in against the DRC. England’s revival meant they won a World Cup game after conceding first for the first time since the 1966 final against West Germany.

Automakers report mixed U.S. sales results as hybrid vehicles drive market

Second-quarter U.S. new vehicle sales show a sharp divide, with automakers offering hybrid models largely outperforming those without them.

Chip stocks that notched record rallies in second quarter start Q3 with a dud

Memory maker Micron, which jumped over 240% in the second quarter, dropped 11% on Wednesday, wiping out nearly $200 billion of market capitalization.

Trump attorney general plots crackdown on ‘birth tourism’ after supreme court ruling

Todd Blanche to target tourists and migrants despite such births accounting for less than 1% of US babies born yearly

A day after the US supreme court upheld the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, has said federal prosecutors and law enforcement officers will focus on combating so-called “birth tourism” – the process of tourists, temporary visitors and undocumented immigrants traveling to the US and giving birth.

“There’s other things that [the Department if Homeland Security] can do, and the federal government can do in the visa process, and the application process, to try to minimize or limit the opportunity of folks coming here not to visit, and not to do what they’re saying they’re doing on the tourist visa, but just to have a baby that can then be a US citizen,” Blanche told reporters.

Scientists fear seabird die-off as El Niño looms: ‘We don’t know how bad this will get’

Many seabirds are starving to death as a marine heat wave lingers off California and fish seek deeper, cooler waters

Within minutes of walking on a San Diego beach, marine ornithologist Tammy Russell found the feathered carcasses – one after another.

Some were mixed in with washed up kelp. Others were under rocks.

Tottenham agree £100m deal to buy Sandro Tonali from Newcastle

• Midfielder will cost Spurs an initial £92.5m

• Spurs agree £50m deal to sell Vuskovic to Brighton

Newcastle have agreed to sell the Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali to Tottenham in an initial £92.5m deal that could rise to £100m should the north London side achieve serial Champions League qualifications.

Providing the transfer’s formalities proceed as planned it will represent a club record for Tottenham, who on Tuesday agreed to pay £85m for the West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes.

Oil prices fall after Trump says U.S.-Iran talks in Qatar are going well

Oil prices were lower on Wednesday after Iran said it would not meet with U.S. delegates for talks in Qatar, amplifying concern about the peace process.

E Jean Carroll asks judge to order Donald Trump to pay $5m he owes her

Move follows supreme court refusal to hear Trump’s appeal of civil case verdict in sexual abuse and defamation case

The New York journalist E Jean Carroll has asked a judge to mandate that Donald Trump pay her the $5m she is owed from a jury verdict that found the US president liable for sexually abusing her in the 1990s and defaming her after she publicly described in 2019 being attacked by him in a city department store.

Lawyers for Carroll filed papers in a federal court in Manhattan late on Tuesday, one day after the US supreme court refused to hear Trump’s appeal of the civil case verdict in 2023.

Former CIA Director John Brennan sues DOJ, Trump officials over criminal probes

Brennan is seeking a court order to force the preservation of records in the investigations targeting him. His attorneys say he's being "vindictively singled out for investigation."

Trump wants delay but E. Jean Carroll wants to gets paid — now: Court filing

The Supreme Court on Monday denied a request by President Donald Trump that it review a jury's verdict that he sexually abused and defamed the writer.

Sony will kill PlayStation games on discs in 2028 and offer digital downloads only

With the much-anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI only available as download, Sony is following suite

Sony said on Wednesday that it would stop releasing new video games for the PlayStation console on disc in January 2028 following a shift in consumer preferences.

“Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only,” the company said on its official PlayStation blog.

U.S. won’t renew USMCA, opening door for negotiations with Canada and Mexico

President Donald Trump's "primary" issue with USMCA centers on America's trade deficits with Canada and Mexico, a senior administration official said.

Four people die in mass fan celebrations in Mexico City after World Cup victory

• Three of the victims died from suffocation

• More than a million people gathered in Mexico City

Four people died, three ⁠from suffocation, as thousands of fans crowded Mexico City streets during World Cup celebrations, the capital’s health secretariat ⁠said in the early ⁠hours ​of Wednesday.

The deaths occurred near the Angel of Independence landmark, where thousands of fans had gathered to ⁠celebrate Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador in the last 32.

Trump says outside funds 'run my money' after disclosure shows billions in 2025 revenue

The 927-page annual financial disclosure form shows Trump's purchases and sales of hundreds of companies' stocks, including Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft.

Man guilty of attempting to murder three children in attack that triggered Dublin riot

Jury also finds Riad Bouchaker guilty of assaulting two other children and a childcare worker in 2023 stabbings

A man has been found guilty of attempting to murder three children during a stabbing attack in Dublin in 2023, a crime that horrified Ireland and triggered a riot in the capital.

A jury at the central criminal court on Wednesday also found Riad Bouchaker, 52, guilty of assault causing serious harm to a childcare worker, Leanne Flynn, and of assaulting two other children and a teenager.

Albania warned EU accession at risk over Jared Kushner-backed resort plans

Proposed development of protected shorelines and wildlife zones violates EU environmental policy, says MEP

MEPs have warned Albania that EU accession talks are at risk if the government does not “change course” over plans for a luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Tineke Strik, the Dutch MEP heading a European parliament fact-finding mission to the Balkan nation, said Albania’s leadership was “playing with fire” by pursuing the €1.4bn (£1.2bn) real-estate venture that would, she said, wreak havoc on virgin coastline.

The Harvard astronomer dubbed Trump’s chief alien hunter starts by assuming UFOs human-made

Avi Loeb’s White House panel has asked the Pentagon for videos and files on unexplained aerial sightings

A controversial Harvard University cosmologist who has suggested alien lifeforms could be sailing into the solar system disguised as meteors is leading the Trump administration’s secretive new scientific advisory panel on security risks posed by UFOs.

Avi Loeb and his hand-picked committee have already begun looking into the origins of mysterious flying craft, now known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and last month asked the Pentagon for dozens of videos, images and documents of reported encounters and incidents, the Associated Press reports.

The Guardian view on Trump’s wealth and power: a medieval court wreaks havoc in the 21st century | Editorial

Supreme court rulings, and revelations of the president’s enrichment since his return to office, show that he has turned back the clock

Donald Trump is not known for his reverence for the US constitution. But in his second term, he is doubling down on his claim from the first: that the text grants him “the right to do whatever I want as president”.

This is, to put it mildly, an extremely unusual interpretation of article 2. But it is the thread that draws together the headlines dominating recent days: a spate of supreme court rulings, mostly to his benefit, and the revelation that he has raked in $2bn since returning to office, half of it from cryptocurrencies.

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.

Andy Burnham says ‘nothing off table’ in case of Rochdale grooming gang leader

Labour leader-in-waiting wants to close loophole preventing deportation of sex offender

Andy Burnham will explore “all possible options”, if he becomes prime minister, to close a legal loophole that prevented the deportation of a “vile” Rochdale grooming gang leader.

In his first significant intervention as Labour leader-in-waiting, Burnham said nothing would be “off the table” in the case of Shabir Ahmed, 73, who is expected to be released from prison on Thursday.

U.S. helicopter goes down in Arabian Sea, crew member missing, Navy says

The helicopter, which was assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, is not believed to have been taken down by hostile action, the Navy said.

Untold casualties and humanitarian needs: What to know a week from Venezuela's quakes

Here's a look at some of the major developments since major back-to-back earthquakes rocked Venezuela on June 24, devastating parts of a country already reeling from crisis after crisis.

Warsh faces multiple alternative inflation signs as Fed charts new course

Warsh has said that inflation is a "choice." The same could also be true of how inflation is measured.

Lone star ticks are covering much of the U.S. Here's what you need to know

It's a tick that hunts you down and transmits a potentially dangerous allergy to red meat. The New Yorker writer Burkhard Bilger discusses the lone star tick and the risks of alpha-gal syndrome.

Ben Jennings on Keir Starmer’s defence investment plan – cartoon

Continue reading...

There is no immediate military threat to Britain. We should spend less on defence | Simon Jenkins

Parliament, media and thinktanks are united in their view that more military spending is still not enough. But sacrificing domestic projects to pay for it is indefensible

Britain should spend less on defence. It is a waste of money and should be reduced so more could be spent on supporting employment, welfare and growth.

Why is there no such debate? Why should “defence” be awarded an almost religious invulnerability? At present, parliament, broadcasters, print and social media, thinktanks and pundits all admit to only two points of view. One is that Britain should spend more on defence, the other is that it should spend far more.

Simon Jenkins 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.

Canada to ​join Eurovision song contest from 2027

Country is first to join since Australia in 2015 as event director says it ‘continues to welcome the world’

Canada will ​join the Eurovision song contest in 2027, becoming the first new ⁠participant since Australia in 2015, organisers have announced.

Participation is not limited to countries in geographic Europe and instead is open to all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which Canada joined last week. Australia is an associate member.

Crypto, Bibles and watches: how Trump made over $2bn last year - The Latest

Donald Trump cashed in on more than $2bn from crypto and other business ventures last year.

As the US races to become the self‑declared ‘crypto capital of the world’, the president and his family have turned digital tokens, meme coins and merchandise into an unprecedented revenue stream.

But just how rich can a sitting US president get? Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian reporter Aisha Down

Keir Starmer suggests Andy Burnham borrow billions for defence

Prime minister has said his successor in No 10 should use fiscal headroom to fund a £4.7bn gap in defence spending

• UK politics live – latest updates

Keir Starmer has suggested Andy Burnham borrow billions more to cover the hole in the government’s defence investment plan (Dip), in a move economists say would severely reduce the likely next prime minister’s headroom against his fiscal rules.

The prime minister said on Wednesday that his successor – who is very likely to be the Makerfield MP – should use the headroom to fund a £4.7bn gap in defence spending over the next four years.

Carlo Ginzburg obituary

Italian academic and author who challenged traditional approaches with his pursuit of microhistory

It would be no exaggeration to claim that the Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg, who has died aged 87, revolutionised the practice and understanding of history. In particular, in a series of books published in the 1970s – above all, The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller (1976) – he embraced a new field of study called microhistory, which challenged traditional ways of understanding the discipline of which he was part.

Far from the overarching theoretical approaches of Marxism or liberalism, Ginzburg emphasised the edges, the marginalised, the detail rather than the bigger picture. The chance discovery of Inquisition trial documents in archives in Udine opened a way to an understanding of a society and culture through one individual previously ignored by history.

Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover reveals Alzheimer’s diagnosis

The 79-year-old actor told media ‘I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life. There’s work to do. Your life continues’

Lethal Weapon actor Danny Glover has revealed he has been living with Alzheimer’s for several years.

Glover, 79, announced the news during an interview on The Today Show, during which he explained that he had been diagnosed “not long” after receiving an honorary Oscar in 2022. “I could live with it, in a sense. I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing,” he said, adding that his movements, speech and memory have slowed. However, the support of his family, who he said “have got my back”, was getting him through.

The sporty sex boom: how our summer of sport is sparking sizzling love affairs

Whether it’s in the queue for Wimbledon or in a Boston bar on match day, romance is suddenly in the air – especially if you’re Scottish

Name: The sporty sex boom.

Age: New for summer 2026.

Justice Department sues Virginia, California over gun laws

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said "the Constitution is not a suggestion" and that "the Second Amendment is a sacred right belonging to all Americans."

Nominate your invertebrate of the year

We’re asking people from around the world to nominate their favourite spineless species for our third Invertebrate of the Year competition

Step aside World Cup heroes, there’s a bigger global competition in town. The whistle has been blown to launch the third Invertebrate of the Year contest.

We want you to nominate your favourite spineless creature for the hugely popular annual Guardian jamboree which celebrates the wonder and importance of the world’s invertebrates.

Nottingham Forest sack Vítor Pereira and turn to Oliver Glasner as replacement

• Forest had June break clause in Pereira’s contract

• Glasner will be club’s fifth coach in less than a year

Nottingham Forest will make Oliver Glasner their fifth head coach in less than a year after sacking Vítor Pereira.

Forest were offered the chance to appoint Glasner on a three-year contract after he left Crystal Palace at the end of the season and felt it too good an opportunity to turn down. The club had a break clause they could activate in June in Pereira’s contract, which they did late on Tuesday.

What’s really in a hotdog? Nutrition experts explain

Americans eat 20bn hotdogs every year, but experts say they’re also among the most highly processed foods

In 1969, the late writer William Zinsser toured a hotdog factory and described his visit in Life magazine, opening with the lines: “I’ve often wondered what goes into a hotdog. Now I know and I wish I didn’t.”

All these years later, his words still reflect our love/hate relationship with the humble wiener. We love eating them, but would rather not think about what’s in them.

Record-high temperatures expected in cities across U.S. through Fourth of July

More than two dozen states are under heat alerts, impacting around 200 million people across the central and eastern U.S. Dozens of cities are expected to endure record highs through the Fourth of July. Tom Hanson reports.

Brother of Baltimore Ravens’ Calais Campbell charged with mother’s murder

• Brother of Calais Campbell charged with murder

• Police found Campbell’s mother dead in Atlanta

• Family asks for privacy after mother’s death

The brother of NFL player Calais Campbell has been charged with murder after police found their 71-year-old mother dead at a home in Atlanta during a welfare check.

Arrest warrants say Nateal Campbell’s throat was cut and Ciarre Campbell was found in possession of a knife. Officers found her unresponsive when they arrived at around 12.30pm Tuesday, according to a police statement.

Sony to stop making physical discs for PlayStation starting in 2028

After January 2028, new games will be available exclusively in digital format from the PlayStation Store and at retailers, Sony said.

Bayeux tapestry tickets generate nine-hour online queues as public scramble for access

Reports say up to 80,000 people waiting by mid-afternoon for chance to see historic artwork at British Museum

People keen to see the Bayeux tapestry faced online queues of up to nine hours when tickets went on sale for the first time on Wednesday morning.

The British Museum, which is hosting the wool-on-linen artwork from September, saw huge traffic to its ticketing website as a scramble for access began.

At least 3.3m people were victims of Dutch enslavement, research claims

Figure is more than five times the widely used 600,000 figure widely cited in apologies by king and politicians

At least 3.3 million people were enslaved in the Netherlands during the transatlantic slave trade, research claims – more than five times the 600,000 figure widely used in history books and cited in apologies by the king and politicians.

King Willem-Alexander referred to the more than 600,000 people who were brought from Africa on Dutch ships to be sold as enslaved people when he apologised three years ago for the role of the Netherlands in the transatlantic slave trade.

Trump accused of ‘disgusting’ greed after being paid over $2bn since return to office

Elizabeth Warren and colleagues demanded tighter rules on political figures’ crypto dealings, citing disclosures of large-scale Trump family profits

• US politics live – latest updates

Donald Trump has again been accused of “brazen crypto corruption” after financial disclosures revealed his family’s cryptocurrency ventures generated more than $1bn in his first year back in the White House.

A 927-page disclosure, released on Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics, showed that the US president had been paid more than $2.2bn last year in total, from real estate, golf resorts, branded merchandise, licensing deals and court settlements.

Americans are showing up for the World Cup in record-breaking numbers

While the U.S. isn't a bona fide soccer nation yet, the past three weeks have perhaps shown what it would feel like if it were.

Victor Willis, Village People lead singer, dies at 74

Victor Willis, lead singer of the disco group Village People, whose hit "Y.M.C.A." became a fixture at rallies for President Trump, has died at the age of 74, his wife and the band said.

‘This is the dark art’: new book claims pattern of personal attacks by Murdoch media empire

In a book dedicated to ‘the bullied’, two former News Corp journalists outline a behaviour pattern they call ‘getting Murdoched’, which they say harms individuals and public debate

In 2009, David Nutt, a professor of pharmacology who had served as the chief drugs adviser to the British Labour government, remarked at a public discussion about legalising drugs that alcohol was a serious social problem, more so than psychedelic drugs.

Soon after, he received a call from a reporter for the Sun, then the UK’s most prolific tabloid newspaper. The reporter asked: “What would you say if I told you we are going to do an exposé on your children’s drugs and drinking habits tomorrow?”

Funerals held for 14 Pakistani children killed in tutoring center collapse

Police are investigating whether negligence during construction work caused the collapse in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday.

On the ground in Thailand: what we know about the Australian man charged with murder of a teenager – podcast

An Australian man, Simon Peter Carman, 45, was charged over the weekend with the alleged murder of Thunchanok Donhomla. Her body was found in a suitcase near railway tracks in Pattaya, on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast, in the early hours of Saturday.

Carman has denied the charges.

Guardian reporter Natasha May speaks to Matilda Boseley from Pattaya about the arrest and the questions it raises about Thailand’s sex tourism industry

Football Daily | France’s fab front four make them incomparable World Cup favourites

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We can all agree the Geopolitics World Cup has gone on far too long, so Football Daily is pleased to announce it is over. It monopolises everyone’s time, changes sleeping, eating and drinking patterns, leaving everyone tired and poorer. No one wants to stay up for further 2am BST kick-offs or attempt to watch a couple of games a day. Frankly, the process has been completely futile since the first ball was kicked.

Please hand over the trophy to France and save some carbon emissions (and the embarrassment of other teams). Just one of Mbappé, Olise, Dembélé, Rabiot or Barcola would be enough for most teams. They are currently the Duplantis of the football world, ironic given their last victim was Sweden” – Krishna Moorthy.

Responding to Antony Crossley’s letter, as an American, I agree there are important reasons to berate our country, but chocolate?! There are a large variety of high quality dark, organic, and fair-trade chocolates available here if one knows enough to avoid the corporate swill. You could berate America for its almost universally over-salted restaurant food but folk from a nation that exalts Heinz baked beans for breakfast (so disappointing!) should be careful about starting food fights. OK, I’m tuning back into Telemundo now. Cheers” – Steve Plever.

Please don’t turn Football Daily into a poetry forum (yesterday’s letters). I find the old jokes and football ‘analysis’ difficult enough as it is, OK?” – Z Snook.

Stop the poetry” – Jon Millard (and 1,056 others).

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Ai Weiwei: Button Up! review – skeleton chandeliers, a real-life temple – and too much silly Lego

Aviva Studios, Manchester
The artist’s latest show is a staggering takedown of colonial history, warfare and the migrant crisis, featuring buttons by the tonne and richly perfumed tea

History has repeated itself all over Ai Weiwei’s vast exhibition of monumental sculpture in Manchester. The flags of long-lost nations hang from the ceiling, bronzes looted by dead empires have been recast and reclaimed, dilapidated ancient ruins have been rebuilt. Everywhere you look here, you will find death, exploitation, greed and suffering from across human history, brought back to life and put morbidly on display. The first thing you see is a black glass chandelier made of skeletons – The Human Comedy – and a wall covered in images of the most powerful bombs ever invented. Like a head on a stake, this is art as warning.

This massive, ambitious exhibition is the Chinese artist at his most monumental, and as a result at his most effective. His subject matter works best at enormous scale, blown up, expanded, shoved in your face. Lining the back wall of this warehouse is a giant inflatable dinghy, 100 metres long, filled with figures in lifejackets. Think you can ignore the migrant crisis? Not here you can’t, because Ai has taken everyday, normalised tragedy and made it into a monument. He spent years interviewing hundreds of refugees, meeting people desperate for safety and a new life and produced a huge amount of work about it. This is the culmination of that project. Is it a good-looking work of art? Not really, but it makes a point, and makes it loudly.

Fears of Catholic schism as defiant sect ordains ultra-conservative bishops

Consecrations by Society of Saint Pius X bring automatic excommunication for bishops – and crisis for Pope Leo

A rebel group of ultra-conservative Catholics has defied Pope Leo by ordaining bishops without his consent, which they declared a “sacred duty” despite it causing their automatic excommunication.

In a ritual-filled ceremony on Wednesday, streamed live from the Swiss village of Ecône, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) went ahead with the consecrations of four bishops, one from Switzerland, one from France and two from the US.

Venezuelan police officers arrested over alleged looting after earthquakes

Anger at authorities and government grows as local people, volunteers and rescue teams continue search for survivors

Four Venezuelan police officers have been arrested and are facing dismissal after being accused of looting cash from the rubble of a building that collapsed during last week’s devastating twin earthquakes.

Local people and national and international rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the aftermath of the back-to-back quakes, which have killed almost 2,000 people, injured more than 10,000, and left tens of thousands missing.

Who’s been invited? Will they need to sign an NDA? Seven things you need to know about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding

The pop and football giants’ combined star wattage will be united in matrimony this weekend – probably – in an event shrouded in secrecy. But here’s what we’ve gleaned

After an agonising 10 months’ wait, the wedding of the century is apparently here: if the reports are true, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will be tying the knot this weekend, uniting the houses of sports and entertainment in holy matrimony. When the couple announced their engagement on Instagram in August, as part of a carefully coordinated album rollout/podcast promotion tie-in, it shattered platform records, drawing 14m likes in its first hour. (It’s now up to 37.4m.)

Yet it’s remarkable, given the couple’s profile and the investigative horsepower apparently dedicated to cracking this wedding wide open, just how little we know for sure in this, the (purported) week of the event. We’ve sifted through all the speculation, sources “close to the couple” and scarcely concealed grumbling from spurned guests to answer the burning questions.

It’s a truly Trumpian tragedy: he’s made billions of dollars but can’t buy love or respect | Emma Brockes

Potus pocketed over $2.2bn last year – but with an algae-filled reflecting pool and his State Fair a fiasco, what price happiness?

From certain angles, it might appear as if President Trump is having a tough month. He messed up the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which he blamed on acts of vandalism no one has been able to stand up. The supreme court rejected both his bid to appeal against the $5m (£3.8m) civil judgment against him for defaming and sexually abusing E Jean Carroll, and his executive order to end birthright citizenship. And the war with Iran keeps rumbling on. And yet, after Trump’s mandatory financial disclosure report was released on Tuesday, headlines drew attention to the fact the president made more than $2.2bn in revenue in 2025 – more than three times what he pulled in the year before his inauguration. Contrary to appearances, perhaps everything is going exactly to plan.

It is always a question with Trump as to how much the wealth he has accrued in his second term in office is the spoils of strategy rather than the lucky result of his scattergun but industrial-scale hustle. Looking at the numbers in his financial report, one is reminded that before he became president, Trump piloted a series of failed businesses – six of which declared bankruptcy – and gave every indication of being a lousy businessman. It’s often pointed out that if Trump had simply invested the vast inheritance left to him by Fred Trump, his father, in a standard tracker fund, he would’ve made more money than through his lacklustre business career, and there’s nothing to suggest this was likely to change.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

Victor Willis, frontman of Village People, dies age 74

The co-writer of enduring hits such as YMCA and Macho Man, who struggled with drug use and legal issues for years, passed away after ‘short but aggressive illness’

Victor Willis, the lead singer of the Village People, has died age 74. The group shared the news in a statement: “Victor passed on Monday 30 June 2026 of a short but aggressive illness,” they said. “Privacy is requested.”

The writer of what were widely accepted as canonical gay anthems in YMCA and Macho Man – also performed in costumes of hyper-masculine male stereotypes – Willis refuted the idea that YMCA was a gay anthem and threatened to sue “each and every news organisation” that made the claim.

‘Beautiful blobs’: synthetic life a step closer as scientists make cells using lab-made DNA

Tiny, quivering spheres designed to feed and multiply raise prospect of artificial organisms to make drugs, food and fuel

Researchers claim they are closer to creating life from scratch after building tiny, quivering blobs that use lab-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in a dish.

The synthetic cells were made from chemical compounds and are believed to be the first to demonstrate the complete cell cycle of growth, genetic replication and splitting to produce the next generation.

From the archives: Charles Kuralt on the Fourth of July

In 1990 the "Sunday Morning" host headlined a CBS special primetime broadcast, "On the Fourth of July with Charles Kuralt," remembering the many ways in which our nation marks its birthday. Enjoy this excerpt (rebroadcast on "Sunday Morning" July 1, 2007) marking Independence Day celebrations – parades and tubing down lazy rivers, axe throws and greased pig contests – from sea to shining sea.

Trump takes first trip on Qatari-gifted Air Force One

President Trump is traveling Wednesday to North Dakota in what marks his first trip aboard the new Air Force One, which was gifted to the U.S. by the Qatari government last year.

Sophomore slump: why is Netflix losing so many viewers for second seasons?

Hit shows such as Beef, The Four Seasons, Avatar: The Last Airbender and A Man on the Inside have suffered giant drops for their follow-up seasons

If you haven’t seen the second season of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, then at least you can console yourself that you’re not alone. Variety recently noted that, while season one debuted with 21.2m views in the first four days after its launch in 2024, season two has been viewed just 8.7m times – which isn’t nothing, but it does mean that the show lost 59% of its audience between seasons.

And this would be fine if it was an isolated case, but it is starting to look as if Netflix is struggling across the board when it comes to getting viewers back to shows they once watched in droves. The first season of Tina Fey’s relationship comedy series The Four Seasons had 11.9m views, but the recent second outing only garnered 4.4m; a drop of 63%. The opening week of Beef’s second season gained 2.4m views, a 58% drop from season one. The second season of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder posted an 80% drop in viewership. And people are only able to estimate the drop in views for Ted Danson’s A Man on the Inside, because the second season didn’t even crack Netflix’s top 10.

Your beach and pool safety guide amid intense heat

Amid the scorching temperatures, you may be headed to the beach or pool to try to cool off. Ash-har Quraishi has water safety tips and shows how the National Weather Service is helping to secure beaches.

Private payrolls rose by 98,000 in June, less than expected, ADP reports

Companies added slightly fewer workers than forecast, with hiring targeted heavily toward healthcare-related sectors.

200 million under extreme heat alerts

Around 200 million people in the U.S. are under extreme heat alerts on Wednesday. Rob Marciano has the latest forecast in the lead-up to the Fourth of July holiday.

How Paris became a nexus for Black culture

It’s got Europe’s largest Black population, the world’s second-biggest rap scene and a long literary history. But even as diasporic culture takes hold in Paris, some ask when commercial success will lead to structural change

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We often imagine Paris as a city of cafes, couture and impressionism. But some of its most dynamic cultural currents stem from the French-speaking Black diaspora.

This week, I spoke to Achille Tenkiang, a Cameroonian-American culture writer with a love for the city, and Liz Gomis, executive director of Maison des Mondes Africains (MansA), a cultural institution based in Paris. They told me how Black French culture has gained visibility in the capital and beyond.

Tour de France 2026: stage-by-stage guide to this year’s race

The team time trial returns as this year’s Tour starts in Barcelona for the first time in race’s history

The first team time trial since 2019, past many of Barcelona’s prime tourist sites – La Rambla, Sagrada Familia – but with a novel format: riders’ times will be taken individually at the uphill finish. So rather than trying to finish four or five riders together, teams will wear out non-climbers early on, then have lighter men peeling off one by one in the finale – replicating the usual approach to a summit finish in a road race. Advance warning: Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma, Remco Evenepoel’s Red Bull, and Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Emirates are masters of this game.

Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: still wearing stripes? It’s time to join the dots

Once dismissed as frivolous, spots are having the last laugh – popping up on celebs, catwalks and all over the algorithm

For years, stripes have been the thinking fashion person’s choice. The style equivalent of remembering to charge your phone overnight. Bracing like sea air, with a top note of French intellectualism. In stripes, you can captain a ship and feast on oysters.

Spots and dots are much less serious. From a distance, they could be smiley face emojis. Spots bounce and dance, whereas stripes are rigid. They are spontaneous and giddy, where stripes are rational. The polo scene in Pretty Woman, when Julia Roberts wears that chocolate polka dot dress, is an iconic fashion moment not just because it’s a great dress, but because the dress itself does so much storytelling. Those polka dots set Roberts apart as vivacious, adorable. The buttoned-up crowd around her does not stand a chance.

South Korean government discriminated against Coupang, U.S. companies, House report finds

The House Judiciary Committee said the South Korean government discriminated against Coupang and other U.S. companies, in a new report.

New student loan rules take effect today. Here's what to know.

Loan revamp affects how much students and families can borrow to pay for college, as well as their repayment options.

A Taoist festival and a giant rabbit: photos of the day – Wednesday

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

Demand for riskier mortgages drops, as their advantages shrink

The spread between the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and adjustable-rate loans is narrowing, causing demand for ARMs to weaken.

Woman survives falling 1,500 feet down Mount Shasta

A woman suffered injuries but survived falling 1,500 feet down California's Mount Shasta, which she had attempted to climb, officials said.

New Orleans residents on warning to abandon sinking city: ‘Nobody wants to leave home’

After a recent study found New Orleans is at a ‘point of no return’ amid the climate crisis, some locals say they will ‘only leave if forced to’. But what would it take to stay?

When a study in May concluded that New Orleans has hit a “point of no return” due to the climate crisis that will require people to eventually retreat from their storied yet ultimately doomed city, the local reaction was swift and fiery.

The onward march of rising seas around a sinking city was unsettling, but the study is “more focused on generating publicity and clickbait headlines” than coming up with solutions, said Helena Moreno, New Orleans’ mayor. There is flooding in Miami, and wildfires and earthquakes near San Fransisco, Moreno pointed out, “yet no serious movement exists to declare those cities lost causes”.

How to turn excess cream into mascarpone – recipe | Waste not

Transform double cream that’s on the turn into a tangy, luxurious addition to both sweet and savoury dishes

Homemade mascarpone is one of life’s true pleasures: thick, creamy and unctuous, with a classic, tart finish, it’s perfect for everything from desserts such as tiramisu, cheesecake or whipped mascarpone cream to savoury dishes such as pasta, risotto or soup. Mascarpone is a simple cream cheese that’s made by heating, acidulating and straining double cream, and it’s quick and easy to make at home; it’s also a great way to extend the shelf life of leftover cream, while at the same time turning it into a real treat. Even a small batch of 100-200ml cream will produce just enough mascarpone to make many a savoury dish sing, for instance in my pea pod risotto or salad bag soup, or to serve alongside my root vegetable latkes.

This number helps explain why many Americans are down on the economy

American workers' share of the nation's income is at its lowest point in almost 80 years, as more of the economy's gains flow to corporations and investors.

Fabián Ruiz: ‘It’s not important who plays, it’s important we support each other’ | Sid Lowe

On the eve of their last-32 game with Austria, Spain’s unassuming midfielder explains their team spirit and about finding his rhythm after injury

At the Embassy Suites on Broad Street, downtown Chattanooga, the vans have pulled out for the last time. The day before departure, like every day, a small crowd of kids had climbed barriers and trees, trying to get a glimpse of Spain’s players.

A girl stood on a ladder and held a placard in each hand, raised above the fence. One said: “I’ve been here three weeks. I know you’ve seen me!” The other ran: “Please come out!” On Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee time, they did. They won’t be back.

SCOTUS upholds birthright citizenship. And, key results from Colorado's primaries

The Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship on constitutional grounds on the last day of its term. And, a Democratic socialist has won the Democratic primary for a U.S. House seat in Denver.

‘I wish he had done more to free enslaved people’: Thomas Jefferson’s descendant on his family’s complex legacy

Shannon LaNier, Jefferson’s sixth great-grandson, reflects on his lineage and the role of African Americans in the nation’s founding

When the US turns 250 years old on Saturday, Shannon LaNier will be reckoning with a fundamental contradiction in its origin story – and his own.

LaNier is the sixth great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson, the founding father who wrote the Declaration of Independence and became the third president.

From jerk prawns to juicy chops: Melissa Thompson’s summer barbecue recipes

Whether you’re firing up midweek or taking your time with a weekend feast, try these five fabulous recipes to get you started cooking over the coals

• Get barbecue-ready with Melissa Thompson’s guide

I dabbled in barbecue for years before I got my first proper grill with a lid and vents. It was a gamechanger; I could control the airflow (to make it hotter or cooler), and the lid transformed the grill into a sort-of oven, enabling slower cooks (rather than only fast grilling). No longer was I starting chicken in my indoor oven before finishing it over the coals – I could do the whole thing outside.

I found myself lighting the grill more and more, seeking that flavour that only comes with fire and smoke, but also relishing the fact it took me outside. Nowadays, I cook everything over fire, from fish and shellfish to vegetables, beans, meat, even desserts. Fire cooking feels both instinctive and exciting because no two cooks are ever the same. People tell me they find barbecuing scary, and I understand because I once felt like this, too. But with a few basic tips, such as “zoning” your barbecue, anyone can become a pro. I truly believe that by starting to barbecue we’re not learning a skill, but re-learning something we’ve forgotten.

Tell us: have you invested in gold through a specialist bullion company?

We’re interested in hearing from people who have bought gold coins, bars or other precious metals through specialist dealers or online brokers

The Guardian is interested in hearing from people who have bought gold or other precious metals through specialist online dealers or brokers, including gold coins, bullion or investment products.

We would like to hear from people about what prompted you to invest and how was the buying process? Was your experience what you expected?

Trump's annual financial disclosure shows more than $580M in crypto-related income

Trump's 927-page financial disclosure report for 2025 totals more than 900 pages detailing holdings in cryptocurrency and stocks.

Lamborghini reveals new Urus performance hybrid SUV after ditching EVs

Lamborghini is calling the new Urus SE Performante the "fastest Super SUV in the world."

Spielberg’s Disclosure Day is making some wonder: will we have real disclosure soon? | Seth Shostak

The short answer is that there’s nothing to disclose. But that doesn’t mean we won’t make contact with extraterrestrial life

Even before Stephen Spielberg’s latest film, Disclosure Day, began unspooling at local multiplexes, the internet was debating whether we would ever experience a real-life disclosure day – when the US government admits that it’s aware of aliens here on Earth, a secret it has supposedly kept since the 1940s.

That would be dramatic news. But don’t hold your breath.

What is the United States of America now? | Rebecca Solnit

The United States of America is … so many things, horrific and magnificent, good and evil, promising and cursed

The United States of America is a truck that has driven into a ditch. The United States of America is a program that has been hacked. The United States of America is … so many things, horrific and magnificent, good and evil, promising and cursed, as it approaches its quarter-millennium mark. I say it as though the US was one thing, but it is a thousand things.

It is the masked ICE agent shooting Renee Good as she stood up for immigrants, but it is also Good herself and the immigrants, and the streets of Minneapolis and their Dakota and Ojibwe Indigenous past – and present and future. The US before 1865 was slaveowners, but it was also the enslaved and the abolitionists.

Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. Her newest book is The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change

Elle review – this Legally Blonde prequel recreates the genius of Reese Witherspoon’s performance

The original star is behind this TV spin-off, and the casting of charismatic Lexi Minetree. Sadly, the tropey script and lack of campness mean it fails to really sparkle

It’s 25 years since you became a bona fide film star. In the intervening quarter of a century you have stayed a respected actor and become a powerhouse producer. An appetite grows for teen-led dramas that for reasons of nostalgia or muscled ice-hockey players appeal to the generation or two above. You are Reese Witherspoon. What do you do?

Take down the Legally Blonde IP, dust it off and make a small-screen prequel to the box office hit that became a cult classic, of course! You maximise your chances of success by casting a charismatic mini-me (Lexi Minetree) who can capture all the sassiness and sweetness of the original protagonist, Elle Woods, and recreate the genius of your own performance by making her un-self-aware without being imbecilic.

Greetings from London, where Banksy's flag man is a warning cry

As he marches on, his flag blows back into his face, leaving him unaware he is only a step away from a perilous fall. As usual with Banksy's art, the statue presents a sharp critique of society.