Global heating is making hajj ever more dangerous, report finds 29. May 2026 (01:01) Rising heat in Saudi Arabia threatens millions of Muslim pilgrims – but cutting fossil fuels would keep it saferGlobal heating has “fundamentally altered” the climate of Mecca and is exposing millions of hajj pilgrims to extreme and dangerous heat even in months outside summer, new analysis has found.Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels means scorching temperatures of 40C (104F) are now regularly experienced in May, the study showed. In past decades, such peaks would only have occurred in summer. The researchers said that hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, would take place amid dangerous heat almost all year round by the end of the century without a rapid transition away from fossil fuels. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Afghan president voiced concern over civilians killed by SAS troops, inquiry told 29. May 2026 (01:01) Newly released evidence from inquiry into 80 deaths shows Afghan partner forces no longer willing to work alongside British by 2011Concerns about the number of Afghan civilians being killed by British special forces in the early part of the last decade prompted the country’s then president to make a “muscular” complaint to Nato commanders fighting the Taliban.Newly released evidence from a public inquiry into the deaths of up to 80 people during an SAS deployment also showed that Afghan partner military forces were no longer willing to work alongside the British by the spring of 2011. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Co-founder of Students for Trump arrested on domestic violence charges 29. May 2026 (00:07) Ryan Fournier, 30, was charged with simple assault and threats to do bodily harmThe co-founder of the group Students for Trump was arrested on Tuesday on domestic violence charges.Washington DC’s Metropolitan police department arrested Ryan Fournier, 30, and charged him with simple assault and threats to do bodily harm, Defector first reported. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia news live: Asio warns politicians that internet-connected cars could be bugged; flood warnings after wild weather 28. May 2026 (23:42) Spy agency says politicians and public servants ‘should be conscious of the things that they are discussing’ in internet-connected cars. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAttorney general says Nacc could use a ‘reset’ after commissioner says he will step downRowland also said the National Anti Corruption Commission (Nacc) could get a “reset” after Paul Brereton, the body’s first commissioner, said he would step down from the role in July.I’ve never stated anything but support for the commissioner and confidence in Commissioner Brereton. But this does give us an opportunity with these new appointments to have a reset and I will be engaging across the parliament to make sure that that happens. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dallas rescuers search for victims after gas explosion destroys building and ignites blaze 28. May 2026 (23:37) Four people taken to hospital but mayor said search continues for other survivors or fatalitiesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Nearly 100 firefighters battled a large fire that erupted on Thursday at an apartment complex in Dallas, where debris from one collapsed building lay heaped on the ground while flames and black smoke billowed into the sky.News video showed dozens of firefighters at the scene. Some had hoses trained on piles of smoking debris while others lifted and moved lumber and other burned wreckage as if searching for people underneath. Two firefighters with hoses towered above the blaze on long ladders, while another sprayed water from the window of an upper floor of a neighboring building. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
White House pushes Congress to approve $250 bill with Trump’s image 28. May 2026 (22:57) Treasury secretary says banknote would celebrate US’s 250th anniversary but Democrats vow to block moveThe White House is pushing Congress to approve a $250 bill bearing Donald Trump’s portrait, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said, which would require changing longstanding federal law that prohibits any living person from appearing on US currency.Speaking from the White House at a news conference, Bessent said the bill would be in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary of independence, and that the treasury has already started preparing for the possibility of the new currency. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sturgeon says she was ‘deceived, misled and betrayed’ by ex-husband Murrell 28. May 2026 (22:54) Murrell has been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,00 from SNPNicola Sturgeon said she was “deceived, betrayed and lied to” by her estranged husband, Peter Murrell, as he embezzled hundreds of thousands of pounds from the SNP.The former first minister told an audience in Ireland at her first public appearance since Murrell pleaded guilty that she was coming to terms with being married to someone she “did not know at all”, and acknowledged people would have questions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Guatemala requests US military cooperation against drug trafficking 28. May 2026 (22:35) Central American country says its president spoke with Pete Hegseth to confirm terms of cooperationSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailGuatemala has requested US military cooperation spanning access to equipment, training and experts to assist Guatemalan operations against drug trafficking, the country’s president, Bernardo Arévalo, said on Thursday.The joint plans stopped short of US military operations on Guatemalan soil and fall within existing bilateral agreements, the government noted. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s DoJ sues four states for denying ICE agents undercover license plates 28. May 2026 (21:54) Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state sued as ICE seeks plates in Trump’s immigration crackdownThe Trump administration is suing to challenge the refusal of four US states to issue confidential license plates to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, saying the states have long provided them to other law enforcement agencies conducting undercover operations.The US Department of Justice on Thursday said it had filed lawsuits against Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state after states led by Democratic governors refused to rescind their policies. ICE is seeking access to such plates to carry out arrests as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Clashes between armed groups in Colombia kill at least 52 28. May 2026 (21:51) Rival groups are vying for territorial control of strategic cocaine production and trafficking regionAt least 52 guerrilla fighters have been killed in clashes between two rival armed groups vying for territorial control of a strategic cocaine production and trafficking region in south-east Colombia, a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) involved in the fighting has said.The clashes, the most violent in recent months, took place in the jungles of the department of Guaviare, near the village of Barranco Colorado. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
