Teenager rescues two men who fell from inflatable toy boat off Isle of Skye 21. June 2026 (19:39) Archie Law, 15, sailed his own vessel to save men in distress, beating lifeboat service to the sceneA 15-year-old boy rescued two men who had fallen from an inflatable toy boat off the Isle of Skye by sailing his own vessel to save them, beating the lifeboat service to the scene.Archie Law beat a volunteer crew of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to the rescue on Saturday evening after the UK coastguard received reports of two males in difficulty in the water off Broadford Bay around 9pm. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Transition timetable: what a Starmer autumn handover could look like 21. June 2026 (19:15) New leader could be chosen unchallenged or after a quick contest while outgoing PM has time to finalise his legacyIf the predictions are proved correct and Keir Starmer does announce a timetable for an autumn departure from Downing Street, the machinery of government will again kick into gear for a handover of power – but one that will be, by UK standards, relatively leisurely.While many democracies build in lengthy transition periods – a defeated or retiring US president serves for nearly three months after their successor has been picked – the UK tends to do things at speed. A losing prime minister will typically get out of 10 Downing Street the morning after an election while the removal vans of their replacements lurk idling around the corner. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Secret correspondence claims suggest tensions at top of Iranian government 21. June 2026 (17:56) Former negotiating team member gives shock interview claiming supreme leader’s instructions were not followedMiddle East crisis – live updatesA former member of Iran’s negotiating team in the previous round of talks with the US in Islamabad is facing the threat of prosecution and dismissal from parliament after he went on the main state broadcaster to reveal what he claimed were confidential letters from the country’s supreme leader.The interview with Mahmoud Nabavian, the deputy chair of Iran’s national security council, was eventually cut off, but only after he said he had seen secret correspondence written by Mojtaba Khamenei in which the ayatollah allegedly said Iran’s negotiating team had overstepped its mandate Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison 21. June 2026 (17:34) Prison officers’ union calls for immediate end to practice at HMYOI Wetherby over fears for child and animal welfarePet ferrets kept as therapy animals at the UK’s largest children’s prison have been co-opted by managers to kill rats, resulting in a bloody incident and concerns over child and animal welfare.The unorthodox method of vermin control was waved through last month at HMYOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire following a surge in rat numbers in prison offices and grounds. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dutch PM apologises for Moluccan soldiers’ mistreatment after Indonesian independence 21. June 2026 (17:18) Rob Jetten acknowledges grief and pain of Moluccan families as crowdfunded monument unveiled in RotterdamThe Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten, has formally apologised for the “heartless” mistreatment of thousands of Moluccan soldiers who fought for the Dutch colonial army during Indonesia’s struggle for independence.About 12,500 men from a group of Indonesian islands who served in the Royal Dutch East Indies army came with their families to the Netherlands in 1951, many having been given no choice. They thought it would be a temporary evacuation after Indonesia had won independence. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
France cancels events and restricts alcohol consumption amid brutal heatwave 21. June 2026 (17:11) Sports and nationwide music festival affected, with temperatures for some expected to reach 42C from MondayAuthorities in France have placed more than a third of the country under a red heat alert, cancelled some outdoor sports events and restricted alcohol consumption at the nationwide Fête de la Musique event amid a brutal heatwave forecast to push temperatures above 40C.Level 1 or 2 heat alerts were issued on Sunday for about 53 million people, just over 75% of the population. A record 35 of the country’s 96 mainland departments were put on danger-to-life red alert, with another 45 under an orange warning. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Coal companies to reap billions more in taxpayer diesel subsidies as Labor approves new mining 21. June 2026 (17:00) Albanese government under pressure to wind back fuel tax credit scheme for multinational miners as analysis shows cost to budgetGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCoal companies could receive an extra $6.2bn in taxpayer refunds for the diesel they use if the Albanese government greenlights just half the mine developments up for approval.The finding, in an analysis released by activist group Lock the Gate, comes as the government faces an internal campaign before next month’s Labor party national conference to commit to winding back a fuel tax credit scheme for multinational miners. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Native children belong in Native communities’: tribes decry New Mexico drug-exposed newborn rule 21. June 2026 (17:00) Groups say new directive fails to respect Native sovereignty amid complicated history of Indigenous child removalsOne morning early last July, Micha Bitsinnie arrived at work to an onslaught of messages from confused families.New Mexico’s governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had just issued a directive mandating the state’s child welfare department seek custody of all newborns who had been exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero. Some parents wondered whether medications that they were taking for addiction recovery, such as methadone, would flag their cases. Healthcare providers wondered whether the fentanyl in an epidural counted as a drug exposure. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia is publishing books too quickly – and everyone is losing out 21. June 2026 (17:00) Thanks to rushed deadlines, financial pressure and overworked staff, titles are going to market before they’re ready – and then sliding from view immediatelyA Sydney author – I’ll call her Rebecca – vowed never to write another book after the deranging experience of publishing her first. She’s using a pseudonym because one day she might change her mind; the notoriously small Australian publishing industry does not tend to look with favour on authors who complain.When Rebecca was proofing her debut – a work of nonfiction published by one of the big five – she discovered that a pivotal chapter had been cut. “I thought it was a mistake, that it had somehow been left out of the papers they’d sent,” she says. “Turns out they’d deliberately excised it and thought I wouldn’t notice.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK climate activists fear case delays could cost them right to jury trial 21. June 2026 (16:24) Defendants worry that changes could remove chance of acquittal based on jurors’ consciences in defiance of the lawClimate activists fear that delays to their cases may mean they lose the right to a trial before jurors, who are typically more likely to acquit them than a judge.Scores of defendants facing trials for protests as long ago as 2021 have had proceedings repeatedly postponed and worry that by the time their cases are heard, government changes limiting the right to jury trial may be in force. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
