World Cup 2026: England through, Scotland wait goes on and joy for Cape Verde – live

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Amid all the joy, there’s the treatment of Iran. They were denied permission to stay in Seattle after their draw against Egypt, reports Ben Fisher.

We’ve got to have another look at Cape Verde’s celebrations.

England v New Zealand: third men’s cricket Test, day three – live

Follow all the action from the third day at Trent Bridge
Second-day report | Read the Spin | Mail James

49th over: England 228-4 (Brook 2, Smith 1) Nathan Smith started with a wicket maiden, using the crease, swinging the ball and deploying wobble seam. After dismissing Root, he has Brook in his sights, with Blundell still standing up as he did for both these superstars at the Oval. Smith beats Brook outside off with the ball that doesn’t jag back in, and Brook may well be relieved to get down the other end with a dab to third man.

48th over: England 226-4 (Brook 1, Smith 1) In a shock development, we have a scoring shot! Jamie Smith, facing O’Rourke, gets a thick inside edge on his first delivery and takes a single to square leg. Harry Brook wants two, which might have turned a drama into a crisis. O’Rourke then produces a sharp yorker which Brook does well to keep out with a late jab, and a little calm descends as Brook gets off the mark with a push into the covers.

California officials unearth 117 dog bodies, many with bullet fragments, at ‘no-kill’ shelter

Police say they also found more than 600 dog collars in area where they suspect animals were killed

Investigators uncovered 117 dead dogs at a northern California animal rescue sanctuary, with many of the canine remains having evidence of gunshots.

Miranda’s Rescue, a sanctuary outside Fortuna, California, described itself as a “no-kill” facility. Investigators said the organization accepted hundreds of dogs each year from shelters across the San Francisco Bay Area in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding.

Tanker struck in Strait of Hormuz as U.S.-Iran tensions escalate

The attacks come as the United States and Iran are supposed to be engaging in a 60-day ceasefire as they attempt to work toward a resolution.

Russell snatches controversial F1 Austrian GP pole after Verstappen’s late crash

• Accident brings out yellow flags in the closing seconds

• Mercedes driver beats Leclerc’s time by 0.236sec

George Russell took pole for the Austrian Grand Prix after a contentious finish to qualifying, the Mercedes driver claiming top spot despite a yellow flag after Max Verstappen had crashed out.

Russell completed his lap, beating the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in second and third, but his lap stood as he had lifted off under the yellow flags.

‘Inspirational and epic’: Djokovic inspired by Serena Williams as he targets Wimbledon history

• ‘I always admired her career, her journey, her story’

• Fellow seven-time singles champion making return

As a seven-time champion, Novak Djokovic is never going to be lacking in motivation when it comes to Wimbledon. But as he continued his preparations for this year’s event, the 39-year-old said the return of 44-year-old Serena Williams has put an extra spring in his step.

“What she’s doing is inspirational and it’s epic,” said Djokovic, who will join Roger Federer on eight titles if he wins this year. “That’s what I told her. I always admired her career, her journey, her story. Of course, Venus, as well.

JD Vance claims US holds all the cards in Iran and will win ‘either way’

Vice-president appeared on Bill Maher’s show hours before more military strikes were exchanged in strait of Hormuz

JD Vance said on Friday that the US wins “either way” regarding negotiations with Iran, pointing to what he called the destruction of its nuclear program and diminishment as a country.

“If we make the final deal, then great,” the US vice-president told HBO’s Bill Maher. “If we don’t make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed. They’re still much weaker as a country, so my attitude is America wins either way.”

Wildlife photographer shares the beauty of Yellowstone National Park through his lens

In the series "USA to Z," which celebrates 250 years of American history and culture, Kelly O'Grady sits down with wildlife photographer Tom Murphy to talk about Yellowstone National Park and the importance of preservation.

Germany and Italy swelter in heatwave as records tumble across Europe

Denmark experiences highest temperature on record on Saturday as weather system spreads eastward

• Europe heatwave – latest updates

Germany ⁠and Italy endured sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths in western Europe spread eastwards, after temperatures broke records above 40C (104F).

Denmark registered its highest temperature on record on Saturday, according to the Danish meteorological institute. “With 36.6C north of Odense, we have the warmest day ever since measurements began in 1874,” it said in a post on X.

GB News pundit charged with fraud during time as Labour adviser

Exclusive: Matthew Torbitt faces two counts of fraud by false representation in relation to travel and expense claims

A prominent political commentator has been charged with fraud in relation to his time as a Labour adviser, the Guardian can reveal.

Matthew Torbitt, a regular guest pundit on GB News, faces two counts of fraud by false representation in relation to his travel and expenses claims while working in parliament.

Football Daily | Filth, fury and fairytales: Uruguay and Cape Verde bring football heritage

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The Geopolitics World Cup has its North Korea 1966, its Cameroon 1990, rank outsiders to revive hearts hardened by relentless cynicism. For Pak Doo-ik and Roger Milla, read Vozinha, and all his Cape Verde teammates, including Pico Lopes, a defender recruited while playing for Shamrock Rovers from the diaspora via LinkedChat. An archipelago nation with a population smaller than Bradford has negotiated a tough group including two former winners in Spain and Uruguay. They will next meet Argentina in Miami, the adopted city of Lionel Messi, where the fairytale likely ends. Though if not, then they would become the greatest World Cup story of all. “We are small but we have big hearts,” sobbed Vozinha following a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia and a quick check on the other Group H result from Guadalajara.

Having sat through the first group games and fumed at the obvious lack of jeopardy, I decided my GWC experience would be significantly enhanced if I ignored some games and played walking football for the 60-plus generation instead. To my amazement, there is an entire new football language waiting to be discovered by anybody prepared to play the beautiful game at a sedate pace. For example, the walking football term used when a player scores three goals is ‘a gerihat-trick’. Come to think of it, this all isn’t far removed from descriptions of England’s performance against Ghana. Does anybody else have any walking football terms?” – Mike Towers.

Re: tournament wording in different languages (Football Daily letters passim). I’d love to be the first of 1,057 Scots to tell you what ‘knockout stage’, ‘quarter-final’, ‘semi-final’, ‘final’ and the like are in our national tongue, but I don’t think any of us knows” – Peter Storch (and no other Scots).

Leaving aside the £116m for Elliot Anderson (yesterday’s Beyond The GWC, full email edition), I’m concerned about a midfielder called Odysseas Vlachodimos being mentioned in passing. Is he the kind of player who gets lost in the middle of games, or does he tease the opposition till they lose control?” – Kev The Poet.

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

The AI bubble has further to run despite the looming crash

As tech firms make huge profits and investors fear losing out, both are doing their best to hold off the day of reckoning

• OpenAI staggers AI model release after White House request

Every couple of decades, investors will ask themselves how long can the stock market keep climbing. Is it safe to buy more shares? Is their pension or equity portfolio vulnerable should financial markets, and especially those in the US, come crashing down to earth?

When stock markets rise to historically high levels – and beyond the level when normal profits can sustain share prices – a few “experts” typically warn of an impending crash.

U.S. strikes Iran after Trump accuses Tehran of ceasefire violation in Strait of Hormuz

The attack comes as the United States and Iran are supposed to be engaging in a 60-period of no hostilities as they hold talks to end their war.

Fireworks sales soar ahead of Fourth of July

Backyard fireworks sales in the U.S. have skyrocketed this year. Meanwhile, gas and ground beef prices remain high.

Appeals court rejects Trump EPA bid to abandon rule restricting deadly soot pollution

Decision leaves in place Biden-era standard on pollution from coal-fired plants, factories and other industrial sources

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to abandon a Biden-era rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel is a setback for the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda and its repeated efforts to boost coal, a reliable but polluting energy source.

‘Like a dead body’: after warehouse fire, LA residents say air thick with smell of rotting food

Cleanup under way after week-long fire at a Boyle Heights facility spoiled tens of millions of pounds of frozen food

Something is rotten in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights.

For a week, thick black smoke filled the air while a massive warehouse burned near downtown Los Angeles, prompting a state of emergency and evacuation orders in the immediate area as air quality worsened. Firefighters finally extinguished the flames on Wednesday, but not before half the warehouse’s 85m lbs of frozen food were lost in the fire – leaving roughly 40m lbs of food to rot.

6/27: CBS Saturday Morning

The U.S. launched retaliatory strikes on Iran on Friday. Meanwhile, Venezuelans search for earthquake survivors and Europeans are battling a deadly heat wave.

Uzbekistan makes its World Cup debut, a first for Central Asia

The country is the first Central Asian nation to qualify for the World Cup, and Uzbek fans have reveled in showcasing their country and culture. The country's president calls the team a symbol of the "new Uzbekistan."

Red Lobster's Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion is described as a 'car crash' for the company, lawsuit says

"Thai Union doubled down on a campaign to squeeze out every drop of value that it could," creditors said

The memory shortage shaking Apple and Microsoft is 'existential crisis' for smaller players

While Apple and Microsoft raise prices on key devices to help cover the soaring costs of memory, smaller consumer electronics companies are in dire straits.

Copenhagen on a plate: eat and drink your way around with our expert picks

Insider knowledge of the Danish capital’s food scene: four chefs (and our head of food) share their favourite spots

• Where Copenhagen leads, the food world still follows

It has to be Københavns Bageri; they upgrade beloved Danish classics using the best ingredients. The cardamom buns are second to none, but the “potato cake” – that’s a choux bun filled with vanilla custard and topped with a cocoa-dusted marzipan disc to resemble a potato – might be my favourite. MF

For bread, go to Tír Bakery in the morning and stand in line – they sell out every day, but their bread is the best. For croissants, go to Bageriet B and sit outside and enjoy a good filter coffee. TH

Australia to double penalty for social media ban breaches to $99m as tech giants accused of ‘not doing enough’

Prime minister Anthony Albanese says too many children still on platforms but he is ‘heartened’ by world-leading law

• Social media bans go global: big tech faces a reckoning after Australia’s crackdown

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

The federal government will double the penalty for breaches of Australia’s youth social media ban to $99m, arguing tech companies are “not doing enough” to keep children off harmful social media sites.

And the eSafety commissioner, now investigating potential breaches of the law by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, will have its information-gathering powers strengthened under proposed further reforms.

‘I’m missing out’: the cash-strapped UK university students forced to live at home

Experts say students from poorer backgrounds increasingly having to limit their options because of money worries

Most days, Mariam spends hours simply waiting.

The 19-year-old University College London student often finishes her lectures by mid-morning but has careers events or society meetings in the evening. The three-hour round trip to her family home means travelling back and forth makes little sense, so she waits on campus instead. More often than not, by the time the event starts, she is too exhausted to stay long.

The UFC fighter who mocked Michelle Obama claims it was all a compliment | Arwa Mahdawi

Clearly, the former first lady should have been flattered by the remark at the White House cage match

Michelle Obama should feel honoured, apparently.

Do you know what the greatest compliment you can give a woman is? It’s not telling her she’s smart or kind or funny. No, it’s calling her a man. After all, what could be better than being a man?

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Opinion: Ranch dressing is a winner at the World Cup games

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the popularity of ranch dressing among international visitors to the U.S. during the World Cup games.

Police arrived to arrest her father for sexual abuse. But he was making it all up

Mark described abusing his daughter in a chatroom. Then it turned out nothing he had posted was true – and he walked free. With ‘fantasy abuse’ on the rise, can Emily and her mother win their fight to make it illegal?

For the first 20 years of her life, Emily had what she thought was a “completely normal” relationship with her dad, Mark. “He was an ordinary man,” she says. “A good dad. We were really close.” Then one morning, police officers arrived at her family home to arrest him for sexually abusing her. Emily wasn’t there. “I had just moved out to live with friends and start my first proper job,” she explains, “but the police didn’t know that. They were trying to protect me.” Emily is telling this story two years on, with her mum, Fiona, by her side. They are close, supporting each other during this difficult conversation, finishing each other’s sentences.

When Fiona heard the door go at 7am, she had just got up. “I wasn’t even fully dressed,” she says. “It sounds stupid but I had just got on an exercise bike so I was in a T-shirt and pants. I looked out of the bedroom window and saw eight people on the doorstep. They weren’t in uniform but they looked official. They had lanyards on and a dog with them.

Trump administration partially lifts export ban on Anthropic's most advanced AI model

The U.S. government is asserting a new level of influence over AI, controlling which companies can access Anthropic's new models. OpenAI agreed to let the administration screen users of its new model.

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.

David Hencke, Guardian journalist who exposed cash-for-questions scandal, dies aged 79

Former Westminster correspondent earned a reputation for uncovering political wrongdoing in the 1990s

The acclaimed journalist David Hencke, whose career at the Guardian spanned more than three decades, has died of liver cancer aged 79.

As Westminster correspondent, Hencke was instrumental in exposing the cash-for-questions scandal that forced the resignations of two Conservative ministers, and the scoop that led to Peter Mandelson’s first resignation from government.

‘Not a culture war’: the council that won its case over England flags on lampposts

Leader of local authority in Oxfordshire faces backlash over injunction ‘to maintain neutral, safe space for residents’

While Londoners scurried from building to building seeking shade on another baking hot day this week, one man paused in the shadow of the Royal Courts of Justice.

The leader of Oxfordshire county council, Tim Bearder, was not only happy in the shade of the court’s gothic towers. He had just won a landmark legal victory.

Best thing I ever ate? Dim sum in Happy Gathering, a small Chinese corner of Wales

Heaven is a round table in a favourite Cardiff restaurant, and dainty dim sum tucked inside bamboo baskets

Whenever someone asks what my death row meal would be, I say dim sum without fail. It’s cheating, I know; a loophole where you don’t have to choose. I’ve spent more time thinking about it than I’d like to admit, but what I love most about dim sum is that you never have the same experience twice – a bit like snowflakes, no two are ever the same.

Dim sum covers all bases – there’s no settling on one thing: it’s a chance to sample everything as you work your way through the menu. It doesn’t fit neatly into starters, mains and desserts, but exists as its own genre, borderless and all-encompassing. It’s overwhelming, loud and chaotic for first-timers; an assault on all the senses, but in the best way.

Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness review – a total TV shambles from Larry David

There are glimpses of the Curb star at his razor-like best here – but they are desperately few. It’s mainly worth watching for the immaculate Obama intro

It is always an emotional blow to see former US president Barack Obama pop up on one’s screen. The Instagram algorithm sends me a lot of him, because it knows I always click on him being charming with babies, statesmanlike in speeches, cool at rallies, articulate and witty at anything, endlessly composed, compassionate, intelligent, handsome, thoughtful – a fully functioning adult human, if you want the short version. The algorithm does not know that I jack-knife in pain before I click and weep softly at how far we – the US sneezed, but the UK has surely caught a cold – have fallen.

And then he turns up at the beginning of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: an Almost History of America (one of the offspring of his and Michelle’s TV company, Higher Ground Productions) to remind us that on top of all that he also has immaculate comic timing. As he walks through what I assume is the new Barack Obama Presidential Center, he modulates his performance so beautifully that I almost began to softly weep again. If I’d known what a shambles was to follow after this masterclass, I would have sobbed.

Forget crumbling democracy: America’s biggest crisis is a stagnant, murky pool | Dave Schilling

The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool is a painful metaphor for the state of our union

When you hear the word “pool” in these sun-baked days of summer, you might think of taking a cheeky dip in the water to cool off the skin that is conspicuously peeling off your haggard body. Everyone (except me) loves a pool. Donald Trump really loves a pool, but not the kind you can swim in. Or stand too close to. Or enjoy at all, really.

The state of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool rehabilitation effort has become the primary crisis affecting the United States. That is, if you ask the current administration. Limiting the right to vote is running a close second in the World Cup of Political Football, but it’s the reflecting pool that is attracting the most fervent attention. As emergencies go, it’s as thrilling as watching a really large body of still water in the middle of a park. The paint is peeling and it’s full of green algae.

Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist

‘Strikeout’: Cricket World Cup winner Plunkett makes instant impact in baseball

• Veteran of 2019 champions in first game for Oakland Ballers

• ‘The hitter ​didn’t know what ‌was coming’

The former England cricketer Liam Plunkett swapped his cricket colours for a ⁠baseball glove, playing his first game for the Oakland Ballers and ⁠even claiming a ⁠strikeout.

The 41-year-old was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning side – his final international appearance – taking three ⁠wickets in the tied final against New Zealand as England emerged victorious by the narrowest of ⁠margins on boundary count. He moved to the United ​States, where his wife ‌is from, and has played Major League Cricket for the San Francisco Unicorns.

The Uplift: The American Dream

We celebrate the United States ahead of its 250th anniversary with stories about American heroes and pastimes. The founder of e.l.f. Cosmetics shares how he made a massive life change to become a Catholic priest.

If a Lyme disease vaccine gets approved, how would it go over? We asked hunters

Drugmakers are working on a potential new shot to prevent the tick-borne illness. How might it fare in the era of vaccine skepticism?

Letlow, Fleming face off for Cassidy's seat in Louisiana GOP Senate runoff

Louisianans are voting Saturday in the state's Republican Senate runoff, as two candidates vie to replace Sen. Bill Cassidy, who did not receive enough votes in the primary to advance.

Sam Lau on clever ways to cut costs at a wedding – cartoon

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How coach Mauricio Pochettino made believers out of the U.S. World Cup team

Pochettino was the biggest name the U.S. men's soccer team had ever hired. His rebuild was bumpy at times — but now, with the U.S. headed to the World Cup knockout stage, the players are all in.

As Supreme Court expands Trump's immigration power, experts warn of steeper U.S. population decline

The U.S. population was already aging and tilting toward decline. After the Supreme Court confirmed Trump's power to deport hundreds of thousands of foreign migrants, population decline could accelerate.

Inside a secretive Ukrainian team launching deep drone strikes at Russia

Ukraine's long-range drones are striking deep inside Russia, up to 1,200 miles away, hitting oil refineries and depots. NPR recently spent time with one of the Ukrainian strike teams launching drones at Russian targets.

Haunted hooks and bone-chilling screams: how Chanel Beads became the indie breakout of the year

Tipped by Lorde and Billie Eilish, the New York musician twists sublime folk and chaotic synths into bewitching new shapes

At first Shane Lavers can’t get through. Then he’s on video call but I cannot speak. When we finally make a clear connection over the phone, I can hear that he’s surrounded by nature, with faint snatches of birdsong at the edge of his measured, slightly gravelly speech. The musician who performs both in and as Chanel Beads (it remains unclear even to its core members whether they’re a band or a solo project) is on location shooting a music video somewhere on the coast of North Carolina. Encountering him as a disembodied voice, never mind one competing with worldly twittering and chirping, somehow feels more fitting than it would for most other musicians.

For years, Lavers has honed in on a cryptic, panoramic sound that ricochets from catchy, shout-along rock music to flare-ups of dissonant experimental noise. If the typical payoff of a pop song is to encapsulate a clear emotional arch in three-minute, verse-chorus structures, the appeal of a Chanel Beads track is much more unwieldy. Earlier singles such as Ef, Police Scanner and Male Friendship flicker in and out of focus, establishing a ground-floor of groove, only for Lavers and his bandmates to upend it with swelling strings, chiming guitar and ear-splitting samples. Lyrically, his songwriting gathers around an unstable emotional core that is so dense in its unspoken feeling that it manages to achieve an aching kind of orbit. It’s Lavers’s great talent to handle all of that swirling intensity while keeping everything suspended in the air.

The World Cup is undressing the myth of Trump’s American homogeneity

The 2026 World Cup has become a rebuke to Trump’s homogeneous vision of America, revealing a tournament – and a US team – shaped by migration and diversity

Following the Department of Homeland Security on social media is a bit like wandering through a casino at 4am. Sooner or later, you’ll see something that makes you go: How did we get here?

There was one of those moments earlier this month. Days after the US opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 romp over Paraguay, DHS marked the occasion by posting an image of Chris Richards, Sergiño Dest and Folarin Balogun exulting beneath the headline “DEFEND THE HOMELAND” and the caption “OUR SOIL”.

What would George Washington say? It's a busy year for people who portray him

America's 250th birthday has brought more events and new crowds for Revolutionary reenactors and interpreters. They say Washington's life holds important lessons for our current political divide.

I’ve fought for victims’ rights for decades. Sarah Steele’s story has stunned me | Jess Phillips

A US military court denied her so many of the rights we have secured in the UK. I will do all I can to stop this happening again

• Read more from our Base Justice series here

Over decades, battles have been fought to win the rights that victims of domestic, sexual and physical violence can expect in a UK court. Separate entrances organised so victims do not have to face their abusers. The option of video evidence. Giving evidence from behind a screen. Reams of guidance for judges and legal teams about what is and isn’t an appropriate way to handle an accuser. We have rules about what you can ask a victim about their previous sexual history, and about what in their medical history can and cannot be requested.

Many of us who have campaigned on this issue have pretty much dedicated our lives to trying to make the harrowing experience of facing the man who attacked you even slightly more palatable, not just for the sake of vulnerable victims and witnesses, but for the sake of justice. It is not perfect, the system fails regularly, but I can say as someone who decided to proceed in an alleged stalking case, I can say that if going to court had meant I would be testifying for hours on end in full view of the accused, I would have likely pulled out of the case.

Jess Phillips is MP for Birmingham Yardley

Today programme suffers ‘body blow’ as BBC prioritises social and digital content

Staff at Radio 4 show, which has 5 million listeners, told making content for likes of TikTok will take precedence for correspondents

The task of briefing the nation on Radio 4’s agenda-setting Today programme has been one of the most urgent tasks facing the BBC’s top journalists for decades.

Insiders at the corporation, however, say that duty has effectively been downgraded, after an edict that will result in correspondents prioritising making content for TikTok, Instagram and other digital platforms.

Dave Eggers: ‘Once you have a machine think and write for you, you’re cooked as a species’

As his new novel is published, the US author talks about nurturing the next generation of creatives, debating Sam Altman – and why he writes on a boat in San Francisco Bay

At Dave Eggers’s suggestion, we’re starting the interview by life drawing together. The novelist dropped out of art school but has been drawing for decades, and his new book is set in the art world. Prudence, our model, stands before us with her palms open, nude but for a pair of black knee-high socks. This, unsurprisingly, is an interview first for me. Eggers shows me how to hold my pencil at arm’s length and use my thumb to measure Prudence’s proportions. Since the pandemic, he’s been organising regular life‑drawing sessions in the book-lined offices of McSweeney’s, the publishing house and literary journal he founded in San Francisco in 1998. He loves the element of chance in figure drawing – you never know which sketch will work out – and believes it helps cultivate empathy.

How so, asks Prudence, helpfully interviewing him for me, because I’ve been thrown off my game. “I feel like in three hours of drawing a human, you learn so much about them and there is so much affection that comes from carefully trying to get them right,” he says.

‘This must never happen again’: Iran coach hits out at the US and tells Infantino to stand up against hosts

• Iran waiting to see if they are through to last 32

• Salah injury fears played down after 1-1 draw

Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, has said Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, must “stand up” to the US after reiterating his belief that the co-hosts have treated his team “very unfairly”.

Iran will qualify for the World Cup knockout stage for the first time if results go their way in the next 24 hours, but after a dramatic draw against Egypt in Seattle, in which Shoja Khalilzadeh had a stoppage-time winner ruled offside and Saeid Ezatolah headed against the bar, they were left frustrated with more than just the result.

All quiet on the eastern flank? Nato leaders fear they can no longer rely on US help if Russia attacks

Trump administration’s rhetoric has created so much uncertainty that Poland and Baltic states have fresh doubts as alliance prepares to meet next month

A nightmare scenario has been playing on eastern European minds with increasing intensity since Donald Trump returned to the White House: what if Russia attacks and the US does not join the fight?

On the rare occasions the question is posed out loud, nobody much likes the answer. In mid-May, at a gathering in Tallinn, the US undersecretary of state Thomas DiNanno was asked directly whether American troops would fight if Russia invaded the Baltic states. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, then gave a meandering answer. It did not include the word “yes”.

Screen time can damage under-twos’ development, landmark study suggests

Exclusive: Researchers call for urgent investigation of risks to babies of tablets, smartphones and other digital devices

Screen time for babies and toddlers under the age of two has been linked with long-term negative effects on health and quality of life and should be avoided, according to a landmark study.

It warns that using screens during that period may lead to wide-ranging developmental concerns and calls for further urgent investigation of the risks smartphones, tablets and other digital devices pose to infants.

‘I dreaded the World Cup but am now embracing it’: how the tournament won over (most) people in host cities

Excitement was muted before the event, but the joy, noise and colour from visiting fans has captivated people in the US, Canada and Mexico

• Do you live in a host city? We want to hear from you

While Kansas City is the smallest of the 16 host cities, it has a history of punching above its weight and – armed with our own compelling soccer history to buoy us – organisers and the community worked hard to ensure that we wowed visitors and viewers alike. Hiccups with shuttle buses and traffic at our first home match were quickly addressed and resolved by our second match. Our watch parties are heartily attended; our official fan fest teems with people from all over the world.

BBC was aware of concerns over Ashley Cain’s ‘toxic masculinity’ online

Disclosure casts doubt on broadcaster’s claim that failure to properly vet presenter lay with independent production partners

The BBC failed to investigate concerns about the presenter Ashley Cain that were raised with the broadcaster directly by an interviewee who was a victim of sexual violence.

Last week, the Guardian reported that Cain, a former footballer and reality TV star, had a history of extreme misogyny on social media.

Where Copenhagen leads, the food world still follows

Two decades after chefs rewrote the rules at Noma, Copenhagen’s food scene still flies the flag for seasonality and innovation – progressive, sustainable and uniquely Danish

I didn’t realise I was a fussy eater until I left Denmark. During 12 years of living Danishly, with regular trips to the capital, I just … liked most things. Danes specialise in high-quality, organic produce, eaten as close to its natural state as possible. Denmark has very specific, diverse climatic conditions, making seasonal eating a science. Forget root vegetables in autumn and strawberries in summer – we’re talking micro seasons, week to week, with cabbage, kale, apples, potatoes, berries and rye a speciality. None are around for long, but when they are, they’re fabulous – and the seasonal Nordic diet has been proven to be as healthy as the renowned Mediterranean diet and better for the planet. No wonder Copenhageners look so smug.

But the city’s food scene hasn’t always been so good. Many who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s report being reared on canned food and frozen vegetables, with pork and potatoes, smørrebrød (open sandwiches) or junk food making up much of the offerings. (You’re never far from a pølservogn, or “hot dog wagon”, in Copenhagen – doling out bright red wieners baked in their own bready prophylactic.)

The Guide #249: As Glastonbury has a fallow year, here’s why more much-loved culture should down tools

In this week’s newsletter: The festival always comes back fresher after allowing Worthy Farm to recover from its yearly musical extravaganza. Star Wars and Charli xcx could learn a thing or two

In any other year this week’s Guide would be arriving into your inbox from Worthy Farm, home of Glastonbury festival. Not in 2026 though: for the first time since the Covid pandemic, which poleaxed two consecutive years of the festival, Glasto is a no-show. The reason? It has booked in one of its occasional fallow years, which allows the dairy farmland on which the festival sits a chance to recover from a half decade of camping, trampling and moshing. It also gives its organisers a rare window to recharge their batteries and plan for the festival’s future, and its detractors a year off from declaring its headliners “the worst ever”, again.

For long-term Glasto-goers, it’s always bittersweet when the fallow year rolls around – the last was in 2018 – but this year it does feel like a bullet dodged, given that the event would have landed bang in the middle of a truly dangerous heatwave (my face, and many others, would have turned a previously undiscovered shade of beetroot). And moreover, the fallow year often works a treat: when the festival returns the year after, it tends to be re-energised, with new stages, stronger lineups and well rested people running the show.

How do dolphins’ blowholes work and how fast do clouds travel? The kids’ quiz

Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes

• ​Submit a question

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World.

Australian man arrested in Thailand after 17-year-old’s body found in suitcase

The 46-year-old was stopped at about 9.30pm on Friday while preparing to board a Jetstar flight to Perth, according to police and local media

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An Australian man has been arrested at a Thai airport in connection with the alleged murder of a 17-year-old girl whose naked body was found in a suitcase, according to local police.

The man, 46, was stopped at about 9.30pm on Friday while preparing to travel on a Jetstar flight to Perth, according to local media.

Tim Dowling: After 35 years in the UK, I’m still getting lost in translation

When is a valise not a valise? When you’re in a foreign land where they call it a holdall

The band I’m in is cruising to the end of its tour, with two nights at Victoria Hall in Settle, headlining a weekend festival. The weather on the drive up from Manchester is unpromising, but by the time we reach Settle the sun is out, the festival already under way.

Touring has been hard on our stuff. In the green room people are changing strings and swapping out faulty cables. Wives – not mine; she’s not coming until the next day – begin to arrive by train.

Venice protest planned for US ambassador’s superyacht visit

Activists aim to repeat disruption of Jeff Bezos’s wedding when billionaire Tilman Fertitta drops anchor

Protesters in Venice are planning to disrupt a visit by the billionaire US ambassador to Italy in his 117-metre superyacht, which they fear he plans to dock in the lagoon city.

“We ruined the party for Jeff Bezos’s wedding last year – this year let’s ruin the ambassador’s tour!” said Stella Faye, a 28-year-old researcher and activist, at a meeting of about 40 demonstrators on Thursday.

Blind date: ‘She seemed to like me, but I’ve been wrong about this kind of thing before’

Philip, 74, an antiquarian book dealer, meets Carol, 66, who is retired

What were you hoping for?
Reciprocated love at first sight (I don’t ask for much in this life). To meet a kindred spirit who might even become a partner.

People in Britain used to agree to disagree. Since Brexit, they no longer dare to talk about difficult things | Elif Shafak

Studies suggest the country is more divided than ever – but we won’t come together unless we begin to talk rationally and calmly

• Read more from the Brexit Vote: 10 Years On series

When I first moved to England, nearly two decades ago, I was invited to attend a talk in London on “the future of British identity”. It was a heated debate from the start, and it became all the more intense when the subject of putting colonial history in the school curriculum was raised. The two main speakers held opposite views and they traded barbs wrapped in velvet – scathing but polite at the same time. It wasn’t just the particulars of the oratory that stayed with me, but what happened afterwards. When the session was over, I saw the speakers shake hands, and then I heard one of them casually ask the other whether he would like to go for a pint. Off they went looking for a nearby pub, these two men who were at loggerheads on so many issues.

I stood there absorbing what I had just witnessed. That two people with clashing worldviews could still find the openness of heart to share a drink together somehow left a bigger impact on me than anything that had been said that evening. This is because I came from Türkiye, a country of profound political chasms and unhealed social fractures. Equally, I had lived in the US for about five years in the aftermath of 9/11 – writing and teaching in various universities in Boston, Michigan and Arizona, which gave me the chance to observe the deepening fissures between liberal campuses and anti-liberal small towns.

Profound lessons from dog training, the story of the Brexit campaign and France’s struggle with heat-trap homes

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days

Social media bans go global: big tech faces a reckoning after Australia’s crackdown

As a host of countries move to rein in social media use by children, could this be technology’s big tobacco moment?

It’s north v south in rugby’s big global gamble as Nations Championship begins

For better or worse, the inaugural edition of the inter-hemisphere tournament launches with even more long-haul flights in a drive to attract greater interest

Brave is one word for it. Let’s launch a must-see global rugby tournament in direct opposition to the football World Cup, Wimbledon, the Open and Formula One. Necessitating even more long-haul flights and an enlarged carbon footprint in an era of soaring jet-fuel prices and climate-change concerns. And with some of the world’s most box-office players unavailable. Right-ho.

Welcome, for better or worse, to the inaugural Nations Championship, which kicks off in Christchurch, Tokyo, Sydney, Cardiff, Johannesburg and Córdoba next weekend. Spot the odd ones out, by the way. Yes, contrary to the atlas, Cardiff and Tokyo are now southern hemisphere venues. For various reasons Fiji are “hosting” Wales beside the swaying palms of Tiger Bay while Japan, for the sake of numerical convenience, are in with the traditional southern powerhouses.

Do you really need to speak German to take a cooling dip? This row in Halle raises all manner of red flags | Fatma Aydemir

A pool manager invoked safety to bar non-German speakers during the heatwave. With the far right soaring, the move is making everyone less safe

Humans are vulnerable in water. Beaches have red flags; swimming pools have flashy warning signs to remind us of our vulnerability when we just want to cool down in the midst of a searing heatwave. Pool rules are essential, especially when children are around, or tourists who don’t know about the local safety measures. With pictograms and whistling lifeguards, swimming pools usually manage to communicate danger without requiring visitors to pass a language test at the entrance. Until now, that is.

In the eastern German city of Halle, a public swimming lake turned away visitors who did not speak German during one of the hottest weeks of the year. The operator of the Heidebad natural pool at Heidesee lake, Mathias Nobel, argued that people without sufficient language skills may fail to understand the rules and thereby put themselves at risk. He said that as a trained lifeguard, he recently had to rescue a small child without armbands from the water, since the lake, a flooded former opencast mine, had a steeply sloping shoreline.

Buttigieg targeted by fake report to child protective services

Michigan State Police said law enforcement and Child Protective Services confirmed a report against Pete Buttigieg was unsubstantiated and false.

Ukraine war briefing: Russian-occupied Crimea declares ‘emergency’ as Zelenskyy’s forces step up attacks

Ukrainian president says Crimea at centre of Kyiv’s ‘policy of ensuring justice’ against Moscow. What we know on day 1,584

Authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea have declared an “emergency situation” in a bid to ease the fallout from increasing Ukrainian aerial attacks on the peninsula. Friday’s announcement came amid fuel shortages and power cuts triggered by the Ukrainian attacks on logistics chains and oil facilities across Crimea, the rest of Russian-occupied Ukraine and southern Russia. Kyiv calls its stepped up air attacks fair retribution for Russia’s near-daily barrages on Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying on social media: “We are doing everything to force Russia to end the war and restore justice. And it is Crimea that is at the centre of this policy of ensuring justice.”

The Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol said emergency ⁠crews had worked to ease power cuts but told residents of Crimea’s largest city to use appliances sparingly to ⁠avoid power overloads and shortages. Crimea authorities have already suspended fuel sales to private motorists, and Sevastopol introduced restrictions on operating ⁠hours for public transport, shops, cafes and street lights. The restrictions come as Russian air defences shot down 660 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over Moscow and Crimea, its defence ministry said on Friday – one of the highest figures since the start of the war. “Today, Ukraine is depriving Russia of this launchpad and drawing a line under its attempts to normalise war,” Zelenskyy said.

Two countries on Nato’s eastern flank have warned that Russia is preparing a possible “provocation” in the Baltic states or Poland in an effort to test the cohesion of the western military alliance, reports Dan Sabbagh. Western sources also fear there could be danger on the horizon because the Kremlin is coming under pressure from Ukraine’s campaign of long-range attacks on targets near Moscow and St Petersburg.

A Russian drone ⁠strike on ⁠Friday ​killed two passengers aboard a minibus in Ukraine’s south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and ⁠one person in the border Sumy region, regional officials said. Dnipropetrovsk’s regional ⁠governor said on two people ‌died and 12 were injured, including two ‌children, in the strike in Nikopol, while Sumy’s regional governor said a drone strike there killed a man in a village outside ⁠the main regional centre, also called Sumy.

An oil tanker suspected of being part of ⁠Russia’s “shadow fleet” was taken to waters near Marseille on Friday, a ⁠day after it ⁠was ​seized by France’s navy near Sicily, local authorities said. The vessel, the Deliver, ⁠is one of nine ships that have been seized across Europe since the ⁠start of 2026, all thought to have been ​used by Russia ‌to evade ‌western sanctions on its oil trade. The Russian embassy in ​France called the seizure “piracy”.

Ukraine plans to build domestic computing capacity for artificial intelligence with Kyivstar, the company said on Friday. Kyivstar said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the economy ministry at the ⁠Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk, while parent VEON would provide financial backing for a first phase ​that Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov said could ‌need at least 3-5 ‌megawatts of capacity and tens of millions of dollars. “The biggest consumer of Ukrainian AI ‌right now is the military,” Komarov told Reuters. “You cannot run military computing somewhere outside. It is a matter of national security.”

Ukraine and Russia swapped 160 captured soldiers on Friday, Moscow and Kyiv said, the latest prisoner of war exchange in war. Zelenskyy said the Ukrainians had all been held captive since 2022 and posted pictures on social media of the men wrapped in Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow flags, smiling and embracing each other. After the release Russian ⁠human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova said she and her Ukrainian counterpart ⁠Dmytro Lubinets had agreed to ⁠jointly visit prisoners ​of ‌war and ‌had exchanged lists ‌of soldiers being held by both countries, Russia’s state RIA news agency ‌reported.

Former Russian defence minister Sergei Ivanov, once seen as a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, has died at the age of 73. Ivanov ⁠was a key member ⁠of the group known as ​the “siloviki”, or strongmen, who, like Putin, had risen through the ranks of the Soviet KGB security service and wielded huge influence after Putin took power at the turn of the millennium. The Kremlin said in a statement on Friday that Putin “expressed his deepest condolences” to Ivanov’s family and friends. Ivanov helped shape Russia’s post-Soviet security state and later framed Nato’s expansion as a strategic concern for Russia.

Utah declares emergency, limits fireworks as crews battle largest U.S. wildfire

Utah is restricting fireworks as the largest wildfire in the nation grows, fueled by dry conditions and gusting winds.

Exonerated man's widow calls settlement in yogurt shop murders "blood money"

The city of Austin agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement to be split among four men — including to the widow and daughter of Maurice Pierce — who were wrongfully accused of murdering four teenage girls in a Texas yogurt shop.

Trump news at a glance: president tests out a new ‘red scare’ ahead of midterms

Republican strategists believe rise of Mamdani could present opportunity to tag Democrats with most extreme views of the left – key US politics stories from Friday 26 June

Donald Trump has previewed a Republican strategy for the midterm elections, seizing on a progressive sweep in New York to portray Democrats as “godless communists” who pose an existential threat to the nation.

The US president, who was a child during the “red scare”, seized on wins by democratic socialists backed by the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, to stoke fears that the Democratic party has embraced extremism that could lead to the violent persecution of Christians.

Polygamous sect leader guilty of abuse after girls found in trailer on highway

Self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman already serving 50-year prison sentence over child sexual abuse

A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was convicted Friday on state child abuse charges after girls were found in an unventilated trailer he was hauling through Arizona.

Someone alerted authorities about the trailer in 2022 after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Police stopped Samuel Bateman’s vehicle as he was driving through Flagstaff and found three girls inside, who were ages 11 to 14 at the time. The trailer was enclosed with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs.

Breaking it down: how to limit the environmental impact of your body after death

From cardboard coffins and natural burials to water-based cremation, Australians are increasingly open to alternative farewells – but the key is to plan

• Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint

• Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at [email protected]

It may seem small among the decisions people have to make as they face the end of their life, but what happens to their bodies can make a significant difference to the final cost inflicted on the environment.

In many Western countries, cremation is the most common method of deathcare – chosen by about three-quarters of Australians – but it’s arguably the most environmentally damaging.

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Nurse who went above and beyond gets special send-off: "You're an angel"

Wynola Wayne received a special retirement send-off after 58 years as a nurse. One former patient, Marco Houpe, said, "If it wasn't for her then, I wouldn't be here today."

‘I’m not scared’: Tuchel backs England to compete with anyone at World Cup

• England must match or beat Ghana’s result to finish top

• Reece James out for two games, Rice also injury concern

Thomas Tuchel says nothing has scared him at the World Cup and is adamant that England are capable of competing with any team.

Tuchel, whose side hope to clinch top spot in Group L when they face Panama in New Jersey on Saturday evening, is not panicking after England’s goalless draw with Ghana. The head coach remains confident in his players and, with the bulk of the group stage completed, has not seen anything to make him think any opponents are unstoppable.

Nurse who went above and beyond gets heartfelt send-off: "You're an angel"

Steve Hartman goes "On the Road" with the story of a beloved nurse who got no ordinary retirement send-off after 58 years on the job.

Video shows Boeing 777 making very low pass over Texas airfield

Data from FlightRadar24 showed the plane was no more than 25 feet above the ground during the low pass as it approached the Horseshoe Bay Resort Jet Center airport.

Runaway giraffe Gracie found roaming Texas Hill Country after 2-week search

After spending two weeks on the loose, a giraffe named Gracie was spotted Friday just miles from the Texas ranch she escaped in the Texas Hill Country. Mark Strassmann has more.

U.S. loses to Turkey in 2026 World Cup, moves to knockout round

The U.S. Men's National Soccer Team suffered its first loss of the 2026 World Cup Thursday night, but will still advance to the knockout round to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. Nicole Valdes has more.

U.S. strikes Iran after Trump says Tehran committed "foolish violation" of ceasefire

The U.S. struck back at Iran Friday after an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said U.S. aircraft hit Iran's missile and drone storage locations. Nikole Killion reports.

Red flag wildfire warnings issued across 8 Western states

Red flag wildfire warnings were posted Friday in eight states from the Pacific Northwest to the Desert Southwest, with gusts of dry air creating blowtorch-like conditions. Carter Evans reports.

FAA investigating low flyover of Boeing 777 at Texas airport

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a low flyover of a Boeing 777 at the Horseshoe Bay Resort Jet Center airport in Texas after a video of the incident went viral. Jason Allen reports.

Venezuela quake death toll reaches 920 as interim president vows to save ‘as many as possible’

Delcy Rodríguez says foreign rescue teams are arriving as anger grows at official response and limited resources

• Survivors tell of ‘brutal and fast’ Venezuela quake as hunt for survivors goes on

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has vowed to fight to save “as many people as possible” as the official death toll from the country’s worst earthquake in more than a century almost doubled, but frustration was growing at the perceived sluggishness of the government’s response.

Rodríguez’s brother, Jorge, the president of the national assembly, said on Friday that the official number of dead had risen to 920. Delcy Rodríguez had earlier said almost 3,000 people were injured. Speaking during a tour of La Guaira, the most devastated region, she said foreign search and rescue groups were starting to arrive.

Appeals court upholds Harvey Weinstein's California rape conviction

A California appeals court has upheld Harvey Weinstein's 2022 rape and sexual assault conviction.

6/26: CBS Evening News

Desperate searches are underway for earthquake survivors in Venezuela; a large jet makes a frighteningly low flyover.

Oracle stock has worst week since 2001 dot-com bust as AI financing concerns escalate

Oracle's surging spending, negative free cash flow and $130 billion debt pile are weighing on the stock.

China's Zhipu is closing in on top U.S. AI models with Anthropic and OpenAI held back

Zhipu's GLM 5.2 shows the AI fight is shifting to who delivers the most intelligence per dollar, making open source suddenly a real contender.

Prosecutor in Charlie Kirk shooting case held in contempt by judge

Judge rebukes Christopher Ballard for talking to media but declines defense’s request to take death penalty off table

A Utah judge held a prosecutor in contempt on Friday for speaking to the media about the murder case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, but did not grant the defense attorney’s request to bar the death penalty as punishment in the case.

Defense attorneys for Tyler James Robinson, the Utah man who allegedly shot Kirk, a conservative political activist, last September, argued in a March court filing that deputy Utah county attorney Christopher Ballard had violated a pre-trial media gag order.

Polymarket launches probe after report alleges deceptive marketing

A Wall Street Journal investigation found that the prediction market paid content creators to produce videos of fake trades purporting to show big financial gains.

Micron sinks 6%, wrapping a wild week of trading that saw big swings

Micron Technology's shares tumbled on Friday amid a global sell-off in chip stocks.

6/26: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Leon Black testifies before a House panel on the Epstein files; U.S. conducts retaliatory strikes against Iran.

Minnesota fraud suspect arrested in Somalia after 4 years on the run, officials say

Abdikerm Eidleh, accused of playing a key role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, was arrested in Somalia after more than four years, federal officials said.

Gavin Newsom calls for national billionaires tax: 'It's time for an economic reset'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he supports imposing "a true minimum tax on billionaires" and closing "tax-free lifestyle loan" loopholes for the rich.

Trump says Iran violated ceasefire: 'You'll find out' if there will be consequences

The International Maritime Organization earlier paused efforts to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo vessel was struck.

Gadget prices have fallen for decades. Then AI happened.

The race to build AI data centers is leading to a global shortage of memory chips, driving up the cost of personal electronics.

Judge orders DOJ to either unredact more Epstein files or explain why it can't

A judge on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to either release unredacted versions of several files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or explain why it can't do so.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

The earthquake in Venezuela, a brutal heatwave in Europe, the resignation of Keir Starmer and the World Cup – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Warning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing

US rapist who fled to Scotland after appearing to fake own death dies in hospital

Nicholas Rossi died due to complications from a medical condition while serving jail sentence in Utah

Nicholas Rossi, the American rapist who absconded to Scotland after appearing to fake his own death in an attempt to evade justice, has died in hospital in the US.

The 38-year-old had been serving a jail sentence in Utah after being found guilty of raping two women in 2008 following two separate trials in 2024.

Leon Black refuses to answer questions on NDAs at Jeffrey Epstein hearing, Rep. Comer says

"I knew Jekyll. I didn't know Hyde," Leon Black says about Jeffrey Epstein in his prepared statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Rubio says Israel, Lebanon reach framework agreement aimed at 'lasting peace and security'

Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire. But that is contingent on the paramilitary group Hezbollah agreeing to halt hostilities.

Trump eases pressure on Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh as inflation tops 4%

President Donald Trump's economic advisors are giving Warsh space, as the new Fed chairman, on interest rates as the president repeats calls to cut.

The Guardian view on royal tax secrecy: it survives King Charles’s latest disclosure | Editorial

The monarch says how much he pays the Treasury but did not reveal the wealth behind it. Britain still lacks proper scrutiny of royal cash

King Charles has become Britain’s first monarch in modern times to reveal how much tax he pays on his private income: £24.6m over the past two years. This is not a victory for transparency but a win for those who wish to keep the curtain drawn firmly over the royal finances.

What is presented as a radical move is in fact more obfuscation. The monarch says he has paid millions in tax, but has not disclosed the income, gains or deductions behind the bill. The royals are funded by taking a cut of crown estate profits – public money that would otherwise go to the Treasury. That amount is decided by three royal trustees: the prime minister, the chancellor and the keeper of the privy purse.

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