Maltese businessman paid hitmen €150,000 to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, jury hears 01. July 2026 (22:28) Yorgen Fenech, heir to property empire, on trial for alleged involvement in murder of journalist, which he deniesOne of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen plotted to kill the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, paying €150,000 (£130,000) for three hitmen to carry out the murder, a jury has heard.Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes the Hilton Malta hotel and casino, is on trial for the 2017 murder. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Democratic socialists ride wave of momentum in primaries from New York to Colorado 01. July 2026 (22:11) Surging membership and pro-Palestinian activism reshape debate on how campaigning movement governs in officeInside a Brooklyn industrial garage turned underground event venue, local leaders of the Democratic Socialists of America urged hundreds of mostly young people last month to avoid complacency. Sure, New York City had a socialist representative in the US Congress, and just elected a socialist mayor. But they had so much more to do.“If we only elect Zohran, we only elect AOC, our project will have been a failure,” Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the city’s DSA chapter, told the assembled crowd. “Our ambitions are so much higher than just a position in government. We want to transform the world.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Scientists fear seabird die-off as El Niño looms: ‘We don’t know how bad this will get’ 01. July 2026 (21:37) Many seabirds are starving to death as a marine heat wave lingers off California and fish seek deeper, cooler watersWithin minutes of walking on a San Diego beach, marine ornithologist Tammy Russell found the feathered carcasses – one after another.Some were mixed in with washed up kelp. Others were under rocks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sony will kill PlayStation games on discs in 2028 and offer digital downloads only 01. July 2026 (20:56) With the much-anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI only available as download, Sony is following suiteSony said on Wednesday that it would stop releasing new video games for the PlayStation console on disc in January 2028 following a shift in consumer preferences.“Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only,” the company said on its official PlayStation blog. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Seven more sentenced to prison over protest outside Texas detention center 01. July 2026 (20:52) Judge hands down 50-year sentence to defendant Ines Soto, whose wife Elizabeth was sentenced to same prison termSeven more people were sentenced to prison Wednesday over a shooting outside a Texas immigration detention center that wounded a police officer and has left many protesters facing decades behind bars.All but one of the defendants sentenced in Fort Worth courtrooms pleaded guilty to charges related to the shooting outside the Prairieland detention center near Dallas last July 4. They each were sentenced to between nearly two and 15 years in prison. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump refuses to renew US-Canada-Mexico trade pact he once championed 01. July 2026 (20:46) Trump and US officials opted to keep USMCA alive on short leash of annual reviews rather than longer term renewalDonald Trump has refused to renew the North American trade pact he once championed as his signature deal, opting instead to keep it alive on a short leash of annual reviews rather than committing to another 16 years.Wednesday was the deadline built into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for the three countries to jointly decide its fate, which is set to expire in 2036. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two people arrested after unfolding banner atop Empire State Building 01. July 2026 (20:36) In apparent marriage proposal stunt, sign displaying message of peace was seen atop the New York landmarkTwo people have been arrested following an apparent marriage proposal atop the Empire State Building’s spire on Wednesday, after they climbed to the very pinnacle of the New York City landmark – well above the level open to the public.The two people, both wearing black clothing and who appeared to be masked, also unfurled a large black banner at the top of the skyscraper with the words: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man guilty of attempting to murder three children in attack that triggered Dublin riot 01. July 2026 (20:27) Jury also finds Riad Bouchaker guilty of assaulting two other children and a childcare worker in 2023 stabbingsA man has been found guilty of attempting to murder three children during a stabbing attack in Dublin in 2023, a crime that horrified Ireland and triggered a riot in the capital.A jury at the central criminal court on Wednesday also found Riad Bouchaker, 52, guilty of assault causing serious harm to a childcare worker, Leanne Flynn, and of assaulting two other children and a teenager. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Albania warned EU accession at risk over Jared Kushner-backed resort plans 01. July 2026 (20:19) Proposed development of protected shorelines and wildlife zones violates EU environmental policy, says MEPMEPs have warned Albania that EU accession talks are at risk if the government does not “change course” over plans for a luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.Tineke Strik, the Dutch MEP heading a European parliament fact-finding mission to the Balkan nation, said Albania’s leadership was “playing with fire” by pursuing the €1.4bn (£1.2bn) real-estate venture that would, she said, wreak havoc on virgin coastline. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The Harvard astronomer dubbed Trump’s chief alien hunter starts by assuming UFOs human-made 01. July 2026 (20:16) Avi Loeb’s White House panel has asked the Pentagon for videos and files on unexplained aerial sightingsA controversial Harvard University cosmologist who has suggested alien lifeforms could be sailing into the solar system disguised as meteors is leading the Trump administration’s secretive new scientific advisory panel on security risks posed by UFOs.Avi Loeb and his hand-picked committee have already begun looking into the origins of mysterious flying craft, now known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and last month asked the Pentagon for dozens of videos, images and documents of reported encounters and incidents, the Associated Press reports. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
