World news | The Guardian

Archaeologists uncover ancient Byzantine city in Egypt’s western desert

Nadeem Badshah — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 20:32:52 GMT

Well-preserved fourth-century quarters reveal details of daily life, urban development and economic activities

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a well-preserved Byzantine-era city in the western desert.

The fourth-century quarters had residential and religious structures, including a basilica-style church in the Dakhla oasis. Archaeologists also found coins, pottery fragments and tools.

‘The situation is terrible’: aid workers on life in Sudanese city pummelled by drone strikes

Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:14:18 GMT

El Obeid becomes key battleground in war between Sudan’s armed forces and their paramilitary enemies, the RSF

Fatima has lost count of the number of drone attacks on the besieged city of El Obeid in Sudan, but said the attacks this past weekend were the most violent so far.

The drones hit schools and fuel stations, killing more than 20 people, including students, she said. “Over the past few months, seeing 40 or 45 drones is the norm. You can literally count them,” said the aid volunteer, whose name has been changed for fear of retribution.

Overseas education project for women and girls axed by UK after two years

Sarah Johnson — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 08:00:08 GMT

The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cuts

A leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has been axed by the British government just two years after it was announced.

The scheme, Strengthening higher education for female empowerment (SHEFE), which was unveiled with some fanfare two years ago by the outgoing Conservative government, had a £45m budget to increase access to higher education for 1 million students worldwide. It has now had its tender withdrawn, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

‘Give him any award, and he’ll come running’: Narendra Modi racks up honours on overseas trips

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:13 GMT

Indian prime minister has a habit of collecting awards on his travels, some as their first and only recipient

As Narendra Modi touched down in Seychelles over the weekend, the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean swiftly bestowed one of its “highest” honours upon the Indian prime minister.

Modi beamed as he accepted the Guardian of the Blue Horizon award from Patrick Herminie, the Seychelles president, complete with a trophy and certificate.

Côte d’Ivoire floods kill 59 as west Africa endures torrential rains

Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:01:32 GMT

Authorities say rainy season getting deadlier, with Ghana reporting 13 dead and floods hitting Benin, Togo and Nigeria

Floods in Côte d’Ivoire have killed 59 people since May, the communication minister told a cabinet meeting in Abidjan.

There are fears the toll could further rise as rescue teams continue to search for victims during the rainy season, which runs from May until July, the minister, Amadou Coulibaly, added.

How the 1986 Mexico World Cup was almost cancelled after a devastating earthquake

compiled by Jason Rodrigues — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 11:40:31 GMT

Guardian reports after the disaster told of 5,000 deaths, much of the capital being razed, and doubts about Mexico hosting the finals

Mexico last hosted the World Cup in 1986, but the competition was almost cancelled several months before the start when an earthquake struck the capital, Mexico City, leaving at least 5,000 people dead, 30,000 homeless and much of the city flattened, in one of the worst earthquakes to hit the country.

To this day, the death toll remains disputed, with some estimates putting it as high as 40,000.

New pipeline in Canada to proceed after C$150bn pledged to ease BC and First Nations concerns

Leyland Cecco in Toronto — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 15:34:32 GMT

Port expansion and protections for whales part of BC and Alberta plan to expand country’s presence overseas

The governments of Canada and the province of Alberta will move forward on a major new oil pipeline after the pair announced a plan to ease concerns of British Columbia and First Nations on the Pacific coast.

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, shuttled between British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday to announce more than C$150bn in new investments in both provinces, part of a broader project of reducing trade with the United States and expanding his country’s presence in overseas markets.

‘I can only describe it as a war zone’: the rescuers navigating Venezuela’s post-quake hellscape

Tom Phillips in Caraballeda — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 11:08:44 GMT

Thousands of volunteers are joined by overseas teams in the hope of finding more survivors in the rubble, reports Tom Phillips in Caraballeda.

Photography and video by Manu Quintero

When twin earthquakes tore through Venezuela’s northern coast last week, Israel Rivas was at home hundreds of miles away in the industrial city of San Félix. As the scale of the catastrophe became clear, the 24-year-old knew he had to react. A mechanic and budding photographer, Rivas gathered the money he had been saving to buy a new camera lens and jumped on a bus to make the 12-hour journey to La Guaira, the coastal state that has suffered the most damage.

“I couldn’t eat well. I couldn’t sleep well, knowing that my brothers and sisters from this country are dying, so I … came here and I’m doing the best I can,” he said on Wednesday, exactly a week after the disaster, as he stood outside Residencia La Gabarra, a 12-storey block of beachside apartments that had collapsed into a jumble of reinforced concrete and bricks with at least three children inside.

Venezuelan man saved from collapsed mall eight days after earthquakes

Tom Phillips in La Guaira, Sam Jones and agencies — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 17:24:06 GMT

Security guard Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, 43, initially told rescuers not to tell his wife in case he did not survive

A 43-year-old security guard who survived last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela thanks to a pocket of air in his workstation cabin has been pulled from the collapsed basement of a shopping centre amid huge cheers from international rescue teams.

Hernán Alberto Gil Flores had been trapped for eight days under the rubble of the Galerías Playa Grande in the hard-hit coastal port city of La Guaira since the back-to-back quakes struck.

Canadian boy dies of rabies after waking to find bat on his face

Leyland Cecco in Toronto — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:29:38 GMT

Eleven-year-old developed symptoms 19 days after encounter in Ontario in ‘exceedingly rare’ case

Doctors in Canada say a child who awoke to find a bat resting on his nose and mouth while visiting an Ontario cottage later died of rabies, in an “exceedingly rare case” that highlights the need for better public awareness.

In a report published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, infectious disease physicians confirmed that the 11-year-old boy died from rabies, a fatality they said probably could have been prevented with greater awareness of how the virus is transmitted.

Founder of prominent underground church released from prison in China

Amy Hawkins in Beijing — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 01:40:15 GMT

Ezra Jin, founder of Zion Church, lands in the US and reunites with family who are ‘overwhelmed with joy’

The founder of one of China’s most prominent underground churches has been released from prison and reunited with his family in the United States.

Ezra Jin, the founder of Zion Church, landed in the US on Friday evening. He was one of dozens of church members who were detained in a sweeping crackdown on Christians in October.

UK woman, 21, arrested in Thailand after allegedly stabbing boyfriend to death

Natasha May in Bangkok — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:51:46 GMT

Officers found body of 34-year-old man in luxury rental home in Pattaya area, local media says

A 21-year-old British woman has been arrested in Thailand after allegedly fatally stabbing her boyfriend, according to local media reports.

The Bangkok Post reported that on Thursday morning local time, officers found the body of a 34-year-old man, who operated a cannabis farm, in a luxury rental home in the Pattaya area, a beachside region two hours from Bangkok known for its large expat population and nightlife.

China says man who flew plane into Beijing skyscraper had mental health problems

Amy Hawkins in Beijing — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 03:15:13 GMT

Official statement offers the most detailed official account yet of the highly unusual and fatal incident in Beijing

Chinese authorities said the man who flew a small plane into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper last week was a 66-year-old who had mental health problems.

The statement published on Thursday offered the most detailed official account yet of the highly unusual incident that occurred in Beijing’s central business district on the evening of 26 June.

At least nine monks killed in Thailand after boy drives truck into procession

Natasha May in Bangkok and agencies — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:10:07 GMT

Charges yet to be filed over incident in Mukdahan involving 11-year-old, as police seek to establish circumstances

An 11-year-old boy has driven his parents’ truck into a Buddhist procession in Thailand, killing at least nine monks.

CCTV footage shared by a local rescue group showed the moment the monks, wearing orange robes, were run over as they walked in procession along a road. The timestamp on the footage was shortly before 11am local time on Thursday.

Papua separatists kill American pilot in ‘message’ to US and Indonesia

Reuters in Jakarta — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:18:48 GMT

Rebels shoot pilot and set his civilian ⁠plane on fire amid long-running low-level battle for independence in region

Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive easternmost region of Papua have shot dead an American pilot and set a civilian ⁠plane on fire, in what a spokesperson for a local militant group described as a “message” to the US and Indonesian governments.

Sebby Sambom, ⁠a spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), named the pilot as Nicholas F Gosselin and said separatist fighters had set his ⁠plane on fire after it landed in the Yahukimo region of Highland Papua province.

Coal is back in AustralianSuper’s portfolio. What happened to that net zero pledge?

Jonathan Barrett — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:00:31 GMT

In 2020 Australia’s biggest super fund dumped its Whitehaven shares. Fast forward to 2026 and it is now the coalminer’s single biggest investor

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Almost six years ago, the country’s biggest superannuation fund announced a major policy update: AustralianSuper’s investment portfolio would be subject to a net zero carbon emissions target in line with the Paris agreement.

To make the point, the fund dumped its holdings in the large thermal and metallurgical coalminer Whitehaven Coal.

Fears Queenslanders could be forced to pay for mine cleanup as LNP reviews environmental ‘red tape’

Joe Hinchliffe — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:00:30 GMT

Mining minister Dale Last says the state has an ‘enormous opportunity’ to become a global leader in critical minerals

Queenslanders are being warned they could be left to pay for the clean up of abandoned mines if rehabilitation laws are weakened, after the state government announced a bid to cut environmental “red tape” for resources companies.

The state’s treasurer, David Janetzki, and the mining minister, Dale Last, this week announced a review of a scheme that requires resources companies to provide surety to cover remediation and rehabilitation costs when mines close.

Trump’s $2bn bonanza heralds the rise of political grifters across the west

Tom Burgis — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:24:28 GMT

With voters embracing leaders who brazenly monetise public office, experts say an ethical code is breaking down

Donald Trump came to office in 2017 after decades of bankruptcies and business failures. Yes, he was rich, but his latest financial disclosure, published this week, suggests he will depart billions richer.

In the first year of his second term, he made more than $2bn from Trump hotels, Trump golf courses, Trump cryptocurrency, Trump watches, Trump cologne, Trump Bibles and more.

Australian aged care firm accused in class action of charging residents for high teas and classes they couldn’t use

Melissa Davey Medical editor — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:01:28 GMT

Arcare says it’s unable to comment on the federal court case in which it’s alleged it illegally charged fees

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Residents at one of Australia’s largest aged care providers have launched a class action lawsuit alleging fees for services such as high teas and exercise classes were illegally charged to clients who cannot use them due to immobility and other issues.

The suit, filed in the federal court, alleges residents of more than 50 Arcare aged care facilities across four states were charged a daily “additional services fee” by Arcare embedded within a “signature package” between July 2020 and July 2026. This includes fees paid by residents who are immobile, unable to swallow, or cognitively impaired.

Woman charged with murder after body of four-year-old boy found in Central Coast home

Joe Hinchliffe and Australian Associated Press — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 06:40:39 GMT

Police are investigating what happened to a boy who was found with significant arm injuries

A woman has been charged with murder after police found the body of a preschooler at a home on the New South Wales Central Coast.

Police rushed to the home at Wyong after a 32-year-old woman presented to the local police station on Saturday.

Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg oil terminal and nearby port

Nadeem Badshah — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 19:09:06 GMT

St Petersburg governor reports no victims after ‘large-scale’ overnight attack that also hit Baltic port of Vysotsk

Ukraine launched a big overnight drone attack on St Petersburg and the surrounding area, hitting the city’s oil terminal and port infrastructure in the wider region.

The St Petersburg governor, Alexander Beglov, said the city had been subjected to a “large-scale” drone attack that had hit its oil terminal. He said there were no casualties and the aftermath of the attack had been dealt with.

German riot police clash with protesters hoping to block far-right AfD conference

Donna Ferguson — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:17:50 GMT

Thousands of police deployed to Erfurt in central Germany as party holds conference on key Nazi date

Riot police have clashed with opponents of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party on the streets of Erfurt in Germany, where thousands met to block roads and prevent AfD delegates from attending the party’s biennial national conference to elect its leadership.

Police reported 20,000 protesters were demonstrating in the eastern city, where Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to be re-elected as the party’s co-leaders in the run-up to crucial regional elections in which AfD could win power at state-level for the first time.

Pope praises US history of welcoming migrants in implicit rebuke to Trump

Angela Giuffrida in Rome — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 11:09:52 GMT

Pope Leo urges Americans to live up to ideals of Declaration of Independence in first key address to US

Pope Leo has used his first key address to his home country to praise the US history of ⁠welcoming migrants, urging Americans to live up to the ideals put forward in the ⁠Declaration of Independence.

In his latest implicit rebuke to Donald Trump, the first US leader of the Roman Catholic church said the word “America” had become ‌a “byword for freedom” across the world because of the way the country welcomed migrants.

Brexit rule change means British teens in EU face soaring student fees for UK degrees

Sandra Haurant — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 06:00:06 GMT

‘Home fee’ qualification ends in 2028, leaving those hoping to study in UK not now eligible for British loans

British teenagers living in the EU could be priced out of UK universities in two years’ time as a Brexit rule change means they face the double whammy of paying costlier international fees, while losing access to student finance.

British passport holders living in the EU still qualify for “home fee” status at UK universities. But this will no longer be the case when the grace period ends in 2028, meaning the first wave to be affected are starting their A-levels, or equivalent, this autumn.

Celtic nations begin to plan for breakup of UK in event of Reform election win

Rory Carroll and Lisa O’Carroll in Belfast — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 06:00:05 GMT

Politicians brace for constitutional turmoil if Nigel Farage’s party end up in government – or even as a strong opposition

The rise of Nigel Farage has prompted political leaders across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to game the unthinkable: the breakup of the United Kingdom.

Unionists who wish to save the union and nationalists who wish to end it are bracing for constitutional turmoil if Reform UK emerges triumphant – with Farage as prime minister or official leader of the opposition – after the next election.

Iran seeks to tighten control over strait of Hormuz alongside Khamenei funeral

Patrick Wintour in Tehran — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:50:09 GMT

IRGC warnings force ships to turn back as Tehran uses passages from Qur’an to send messages to Gulf delegations

The diplomatic and military contest for control of the strait of Hormuz has intensified alongside the dramatic scenes of mourning for the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with some claiming Khamenei’s legacy ultimately depends on Tehran’s grip on the waterway, and so the global economy.

Over the past 48 hours, as crowds have swirled in Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps appeared to have started to plug a gaping and growing gap in their monopoly control of the strait.

Calls for killing of Trump at funeral of Iran supreme leader Ali Khamenei

Patrick Wintour in Tehran — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:04:32 GMT

New supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei still absent from public view as his three brothers stand beside father’s coffin

Beside the coffin of the assassinated former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei at a packed prayer hall in Tehran on Sunday there were calls for the killing of Donald Trump.

Iran is staging a week of mass funeral processions ⁠for Khamenei, who was killed along with other members of his family on the first day of the US and Israeli war on 28 February. The funeral was delayed because of the war.

Crowds gather as six-day funeral for former Iranian supreme leader begins

Patrick Wintour in Tehran — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:51:41 GMT

Up to 30 million people expected to attend delayed events for Ali Khamenei, killed at start of war with US and Israel

Huge crowds have gathered at the funeral of the former Iranian supreme leader after the gates of the sprawling Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran let in thousands of mourners who had been waiting through the night to enter the grounds.

Iran is staging mass funeral processions for Ali Khamenei – whose ⁠37-year reign was brought ⁠to an end in February by the first airstrike of the war launched by the US and Israel. By 5.30am, the Tehran streets surrounding the mosque were already filling up as Iranians, some travelling for hours and many carrying flags or posters of Khamenei, made their way to an event designed to emphasise the country’s sense of loss at the killing of the supreme leader and desire for revenge. Emotions filled the air as the crowds chanted Death to America and Israel.

Two Romanians jailed over stabbing of Iranian TV journalist in London

Nadeem Badshah — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 18:15:02 GMT

Judge says evidence indicates attack on Pouria Zeraati outside home was carried out on behalf of Tehran regime

Two Romanians who took part in a “targeted” knife attack on a television journalist in London “on behalf of the Iranian state” have been jailed.

Pouria Zeraati, who worked for the Persian-language channel Iran International, which is critical of the Tehran regime, was left bleeding in the street after being stabbed three times outside his home in Wimbledon.

Ali Khamenei’s six-day funeral expected to draw millions in Iran

Patrick Wintour in Tehran — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:05:44 GMT

Country’s leadership vows to never surrender as memorial on grand scale aims to relay message of resistance to world

In the small hours of Friday the police roadblocks, stalls, posters and army vans were starting to appear across Tehran, as millions of Iranians prepared to attend the long-delayed six-day funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 turbulent years.

Khamenei was killed aged 86 in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, and the final farewell ceremony is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion. By Thursday, knots of mourners carrying flags and blankets were already gathering along roads festooned with banners showing the red fist, the symbol of the funeral, alongside the slogan: “We must rise.” Many were heading to special hostels being set up across Tehran for the pilgrims. In Revolution Square a giant statue of a clenched fist was being installed.

Pakistan roof collapse kills 14 children at tutoring centre

Guardian staff and agencies — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 23:34:00 GMT

Local officials said preliminary reports showed the centre was unregistered and operating inside a privately owned residential building

Fourteen children died after ⁠the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in Pakistan’s eastern city of ⁠Lahore on Tuesday, ⁠rescue officials have said, as authorities opened the way for a possible negligence ⁠investigation.

Punjab’s emergency service said rescuers found children and a 30-year-old female teacher ⁠under the rubble of the private after-school facility. The children killed were aged ‌five to ‌16 with most below nine.

Delhi plans to ban petrol rickshaws and scooters in effort to cut toxic fumes

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 14:10:28 GMT

Government hopes for 30% of city’s fleet to be electric by 2030, in move hailed as ‘gamechanger’ on air pollution

The unruly chaos of Delhi’s roads would be unrecognisable without the rickshaws and scooters that zip through India’s capital in their millions, emitting toxic fumes in their wake. But now, ambitious policies aim to give the city’s most recognisable vehicles an environmental makeover.

On Monday, Delhi’s government announced plans to eventually ban petrol scooters, motorbikes and autorickshaws in favour of those running on electricity, in an attempt to bring down dangerously high pollution levels in the city by the end of the decade.

‘Humanity is a privilege’: Umar Khalid on his six years in an Indian jail without trial

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:32 GMT

Exclusive: Activist tells of his life as one of India’s most prominent political prisoners and his opposition to the government of Narendra Modi

Prison is hardest at sunset. As the thousands of prisoners incarcerated in Delhi’s most infamous jail are cast out of their cells and forced into the dank yard until darkness falls, prisoner number 626714 feels the punishing dread begin to rise.

Yet the inmate – better known as Umar Khalid – was recently moved to discover that another political prisoner, exiled at a camp thousands of miles from India, wrote of the very same feeling more than 150 years ago.

Pakistani airstrikes kill dozens in eastern Afghanistan

Hannah Ellis-Petersen and agencies — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:34:19 GMT

Pakistan says strikes were aimed at a terrorist group while Taliban condemn ‘cowardly act of aggression’

Pakistani airstrikes in three eastern provinces of Afghanistan killed 36 civilians and wounded 163 others, Afghan officials have said, as attacks between the two countries showed no sign of abating.

Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the operations on Sunday night were aimed at a terrorist group his country blamed for a deadly militant attack in Karachi that killed three security personnel over the weekend.

Child malnutrition in Nepal has reached ‘alarming’ levels since aid cuts, survey finds

Kat Lay, Global health correspondent — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:00:13 GMT

Fears hard-won gains in reducing child mortality over 20 years are at risk after end of USAID funding for nutrition programmes

Child malnutrition in Nepal has reached “alarming” levels, according to the largest ever survey of under-fives in the country.

The new figures came just over a year after USAID, the former US flagship agency closed by the Trump administration in 2025, stopped funding work on child nutrition in Nepal.

It must be bad for Nige and his finances if it’s Honest Bob Jenrick to the rescue | John Crace

John Crace — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:29:29 GMT

‘Nothing to see here,’ says the man who once overruled council planners in favour of Richard ‘Dirty’ Desmond

How unlucky can one man get? You have to feel for Nigel Farage. Why does it keep happening to him? There he is, just minding his own business, trying to make a decent living – those five houses won’t pay for themselves, which is why other people may have done – and yet there’s always someone trying to drag a good man down. Isn’t the “Man of the People (TM)” entitled to have a few multimillionaires as friends to bankroll his lifestyle? Who hasn’t pined for crypto and gold bullion?

First there was the £5m from the British-Thai crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, revealed exclusively by the Guardian. Months later, the stench won’t go away. Even Nige has been at a loss to explain what exactly he was given the money for. Unsure whether it was a payment to cover security or just a little “thank you” for a lifetime’s work in the service of making the country an easier place for grifters to make money. Even now, Nige has gone to ground as he tries to get his story straight.

Delivery firm Evri sues BBC for £1.2m over Panorama documentary

Jasper Jolly and agencies — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:27:16 GMT

Company seeks redress for contracts it says it has lost as a result of programme’s claims about its business practices

The parcel delivery company Evri is suing the BBC for £1.2m over a documentary it claims caused it serious financial loss.

Evri has filed particulars of claim at the high court which state that it lost prospective clients after the broadcast of the Panorama documentary Evri: Where’s my parcel?

Pioneer of ‘extreme male brain’ theory of autism now says phrase unhelpful

Hannah Devlin Science correspondent — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:02:46 GMT

Exclusive: Prof Simon Baron-Cohen says his language was misunderstood and it is a myth that autistic people lack empathy

The scientist who pioneered the “extreme male brain” theory of autism has said he regrets characterising the condition in this way because the phrase lends itself to misunderstandings.

Prof Simon Baron-Cohen’s theory that autistic people tend strongly towards systemising over empathising has been hugely influential in shaping the popular perception of autism over the past two decades. The underlying science had stood the test of time, he said, but he now views the “extreme male brain” label as unhelpful.

Cutting language courses puts social mobility at risk, say UK experts

Anna Bawden — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:00:28 GMT

Exclusive: University moves and falling exam entries fuel concerns about opportunities for working-class pupils

Cutting language courses at universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills, former education secretaries and experts in the UK have warned.

More than 70 languages academics were among 500 staff at the University of Exeter to be told last week they were at risk of redundancy as it seeks to cut 150 full-time posts, predominantly in the humanities. The announcement followed the proposal by the University of Nottingham to become the first Russell Group university to offer no language degrees.

Empty reservoirs, ladybirds and sunstroke: remembering the UK heatwave of 1976

Alfie Packham and Jane Clinton — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:00:27 GMT

As Britain reached its hottest June temperature on record, readers recall the summer when temperatures hit 36C

The recent heatwave in the UK broke the previous June record of 35.6C, recorded during the 1976 heatwave.

In Lingwood, Norfolk, a provisional temperature of 37.7C was recorded on Friday 26 June, breaking the previous record reached on 28 June 1976 and on 29 June 1957.

Hundreds of masked white nationalists march in Washington on Fourth of July

Gloria Oladipo — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:58:22 GMT

Neo-fascist group Patriot Front parades banners, including Confederate flag, chanting ‘Reclaim America’ in US capital

Hundreds of masked men carrying banners, including the Confederate flag, marched through Washington DC on the Fourth of July, the 250th anniversary of the US’s inception.

The group appeared to be led by Thomas Rousseau, founder of the neo-fascist, white supremacist organization Patriot Front. Members of the group wore white masks and gathered in front of DC’s Union Station. They later marched towards Capitol Hill, WTOP reported.

At least eight shot, including four children, in New York’s Coney Island

Edward Helmore — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:06:40 GMT

Incident took place late in the evening on Independence Day, reports say, with woman said to be in critical condition

At ⁠least eight people, including four children, were shot and wounded on Saturday during the Fourth of July holiday in New York City’s Coney Island section, according to police.

The shooting happened at about 10.35pm on the Brooklyn neighborhood’s West 30th Street – not far from a boardwalk where a fireworks display had been set less than an hour earlier.

Nancy Pelosi’s husband could face charge after hitting parked car in California

Associated Press — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:11:01 GMT

Paul Pelosi could face misdemeanor charges over crash that left car with ‘major’ damage, authorities say

The husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was involved in a hit-and-run car crash in California that left a parked vehicle with “major” damage, authorities said on Saturday – and he could face misdemeanor charges.

Paul Pelosi was driving his brown convertible on Friday in Yountville, a town in the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, briefly stopped and then drove away, the Napa county sheriff’s office said in a statement. No injuries were reported.

Guardian staff contributed reporting

Man claiming world’s smallest penis says he’s booked enhancement surgery after public’s help

Ramon Antonio Vargas — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 11:00:27 GMT

Michael Phillips says he suffers from micropenis – but he’s now fundraised enough to increase his member’s girth

A US man who has staked the uncontested claim of having the smallest penis in the world says he has booked a procedure to enhance his member at least somewhat after soliciting the online public’s financial support for that purpose.

In a brief interview on Saturday, 38-year-old Michael Phillips described himself as “really thankful and surprised” over the GoFundMe platform users who supported his campaign for help to pay for the procedure in question.

Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

Associated Press — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 21:06:56 GMT

Kelsey Pfendler set out to become first US woman, youngest woman and fastest woman to solo over 2,400-mile journey

A Grand Canyon river-rafting guide who aimed to become the first US woman to row solo across the mid-Pacific has completed a record-breaking journey from California to Hawaii.

Hundreds of people gathered to cheer on Kelsey Pfendler as she pulled into a Honolulu harbor on Friday night on her 21ft rowboat, Lily, after nearly a month-and-a-half at sea, local media reported.

Guardian staff contributed