General news

• 'We crushed it': How did West Virginia become a national leader in Covid vaccination?

  31-01-2021 15:15
  
  West Virginia, a small, rural state with an older population, was expected to struggle with Covid and any vaccine rollout. Things turned out differently.
  
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• Europe heatwave live: Germany braced for temperatures ‘well over 40C’; extreme heat warnings for England

  27-06-2026 14:02 via theguardian.com
  Forecasters say hottest conditions spreading into central and eastern EuropeAfter decades of climate warnings, why is Europe so unprepared for rising heat?Seawater is seeping into Italy’s longest river as the waterway starts to run dry in the heatwave, hitting a farming heartland that produces the milk for Parmesan cheese.The Po River has never fallen this low so early in the year, raising fears of a devastating drought in July in this corner of northern Italy. Continue reading...
  
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• The UFC match plot: how a far-right group tried to assassinate Trump at his own event

  27-06-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Court files show how men connected through TikTok and encrypted apps planned attack on White House UFC fightWhen Tycen Proper, 19, finished high school, his family gave him at least $3,000 of “graduation money”, according to court documents. Despite the generosity, he seemed content to just live at his parents’ home, in a tiny Ohio town near Amish country, and spend more and more time on the internet.But Proper did have ambition of a kind, an affidavit says. He quit his job to
  
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• ‘I’m missing out’: the cash-strapped UK university students forced to live at home

  27-06-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Experts say students from poorer backgrounds increasingly having to limit their options because of money worriesMost 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
  
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• David Hencke, Guardian journalist who exposed cash-for-questions scandal, dies aged 79

  27-06-2026 13:30 via theguardian.com
  Former Westminster correspondent earned a reputation for uncovering political wrongdoing in the 1990sThe 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. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Not a culture war’: the council that won its case over England flags on lampposts

  27-06-2026 13:14 via theguardian.com
  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. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘This isn’t about any one administration’: protests kick off in DC to reimagine the next 250 years in the US

  27-06-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Next250’s Declaration of Interdependence, a new art gallery that features Americans’ collective values and hopes for the future, will open in McPherson SquareThousands are expected to gather a block away from the White House today to unveil their vision for America’s future.At the Next250 All of US rally, held a week before the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, organizers will launch their Declaration of Interdependence, an art installation featuring the collec
  
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• ‘Not puff pieces and kid gloves’: why Bari Weiss is hiring British journalists at CBS News

  27-06-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Editor-in-chief has developed network of UK thinkers she believes reject what she regards as overly ‘woke’ consensusIn the six years since she very publicly resigned from the New York Times, and in her tumultuous eight months as editor-in-chief of one of the US’s most prestigious television networks, Bari Weiss has become renowned as a media disruptor and challenger of what she regards as an overly “woke” journalistic consensus.As Weiss continues to face bitter inte
  
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• ‘It’s just so wrong’: Haitians in Ohio reel from supreme court TPS ruling

  27-06-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  After outrageous insults from Donald Trump, Haitians have helped to revive Springfield – now their future is uncertainThe embattled Haitian community of Springfield, Ohio is among many groups reeling after this week’s ruling from the supreme court that strips the legal immigration status from hundreds of thousands of Haitians living and working in the US – and could be a threat to more than a million.The Springfield community in particular had worked hard to remain resilient be
  
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• Trump threatens 100% tariff on European countries that impose digital tax

  27-06-2026 12:20 via theguardian.com
  US president says levy would be imposed immediately and supersede pre-existing trade deals with the countryDonald Trump has threatened to place a 100% import tariff on any European country that imposes a tax on digital services from US companies.Writing on Truth Social on Friday, the US president said that “numerous European countries” had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies and that “some of these countries are close to actually doing this&rdqu
  
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• Nigel Farage’s anti-WHO campaign moves to US with allies added to board

  27-06-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Relocation of Action on World Health raises questions over why Reform UK leader is involved in a US pressure groupNigel Farage’s campaign against the World Health Organization (WHO) is moving to the US with a new board of lobbyists, raising questions over why the Reform UK leader is involved in an American pressure group.The Action on World Health campaign, co-founded by Farage, is relocating to the US state of Delaware as a charitable foundation and grassroots non-profit. Continue reading
  
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• Gracie the giraffe who wandered off in Texas found safe – for real this time

  27-06-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Animal who went missing from private ranch for nearly two weeks had been falsely reported as found earlier in the weekThe search for a giraffe who absconded from a private game ranch in rural Texas and effectively went missing for nearly two weeks was found safe on Friday just a few miles away from the homestead, according to authorities.An aerial search ultimately pinpointed the whereabouts of Gracie “the w[a]ndering giraffe”, said Nathan Johnson, the Real county sheriff, in a Faceb
  
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• Australian man arrested in Thailand after 17-year-old’s body found in suitcase

  27-06-2026 07:53 via theguardian.com
  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 mediaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn 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 t
  
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• Venice protest planned for US ambassador’s superyacht visit

  27-06-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Activists aim to repeat disruption of Jeff Bezos’s wedding when billionaire Tilman Fertitta drops anchorProtesters 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 ab
  
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• Social media bans go global: big tech faces a reckoning after Australia’s crackdown

  27-06-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  As a host of countries move to rein in social media use by children, could this be technology’s big tobacco moment? Continue reading...
  
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• ‘You’re history itself!’: how Arab World Cup commentators fuel fans’ passions

  27-06-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Arabic’s rich history of poetry lends itself well to ‘beautiful commentary that … sounds like a love letter to football’Even before Cristiano Ronaldo’s close-range shot had hit the back of net, the commentator had begun shouting. “Allllllllaaaaaaah!!!!” exclaimed Amer al-Khudhiri, an Omani football announcer for BeIN Sports, as the Portugal star scored his first goal of the 2026 World Cup against Uzbekistan on Tuesday.He took a deep breath and then bega
  
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• Hikers lost in Kosciuszko national park rescued within five hours by AI drone

  27-06-2026 05:05 via theguardian.com
  Fire and Rescue NSW uses thermal imaging and a mobile phone red light to quickly locate men who veered off walking track near JindabyneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo hikers who veered off a walking track in Kosciuszko national park have been found within five hours using a drone powered by artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind mission, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has said.The two men, aged in their 20s, were reported missing at 7pm on Tuesday evening after
  
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• Snow and ice on Swiss glaciers melting at alarming rate amid heatwave, expert says

  27-06-2026 04:50 via theguardian.com
  Accumulation on Switzerland’s glaciers from last winter expected to all be gone by Monday amid ‘enormous’ melt rates across AlpsEurope heatwave: latest updatesSwiss glaciers are set to lose an enormous amount of ice due to the heatwave battering Europe, according to the head of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (Glamos).The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland’s glaciers is expected to have all melted away by Monday, marking the alarming second-earliest arr
  
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• JD Vance says ‘violence will be met with violence’ after strikes on Iran – as it happened

  27-06-2026 04:03 via theguardian.com
  This live blog is now closed.US says it struck Iran targets after attack on cargo ship on the strait of HormuzSign up for the Breaking News US emailHayes went on:As national security adviser to the president of the United States, Mr Bolton had access to and was responsible for safeguarding the most sensitive national defense information, including classified material.Mr Bolton knew how to handle classified information, where it should be stored, how it should be stored, and with whom he could sh
  
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• Venezuela quake death toll reaches 920 as interim president vows to save ‘as many as possible’

  27-06-2026 00:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Delcy Rodríguez says foreign rescue teams are arriving as anger grows at official response and limited resourcesSurvivors tell of ‘brutal and fast’ Venezuela quake as hunt for survivors goes onVenezuela’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 sluggi
  
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• US says it struck Iran targets after attack on cargo ship in the strait of Hormuz

  27-06-2026 00:21 via theguardian.com
  Strikes against military facilities were in response to drone attack a day earlier on a cargo vesselThe US has struck Iran in a tit-for-tat response to a drone strike on a cargo ship, as the ceasefire between the US and Iran that reopened the strait of Hormuz undergoes its greatest test yet.The US strikes targeted multiple missile and drone facilities in Iran near the strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm Island on Friday in what appeared to be a limited strike meant to respond to Iran’s attack on
  
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• Trump blames Iran for drone strike on cargo ship in strait of Hormuz

  26-06-2026 21:08 via theguardian.com
  US president calls it ‘foolish violation’ of ceasefire agreement after drone damaged ship’s upper deckUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for carrying out a drone strike on a cargo ship in the strait of Hormuz, calling it a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement with the US.One drone damaged the upper deck of the ship but the ship was able to proceed, the US president said. The US shot down three other drones aimed at th
  
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• UK June heat record broken again, France postpones Pride and Poland warns of wildfires as heatwave grips Europe – as it happened

  26-06-2026 19:07 via theguardian.com
  This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here:UK June heat record broken for third day in a rowFourth child dies in France as brutal heatwave forecast to shift eastOver in the UK, firefighters are still trying to bring a large wildfire in Derbyshire under control.The blaze, which has burned over 500 square metres of moorland and woodland on Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, broke out on Wednesday evening, with fire crews from Manchester and Derbyshire deploying a water-dropping heli
  
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• Carney announces contest to revamp uninhabitable Canadian PM residence

  26-06-2026 18:09 via theguardian.com
  Various issues – including a rodent infestation and mould – have left the historic, sprawling Ottawa estate empty10 Downing Street has two things: mice and a chief mouser. For more than a decade, an officially recognized feline has kept rodent infestation in the British prime minister’s residence to a minimum.Over a similar period, the official residence of Canada’s prime minister has seen an unchecked explosion of rodents. Continue reading...
  
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• Survivors tell of ‘brutal and fast’ Venezuela quake as hunt for survivors goes on

  26-06-2026 18:02 via theguardian.com
  Worst incident of its kind in country for more than 125 years leaves many searching for family members – and pleading for international helpVenezuela death toll doubles as interim president vows to save ‘as many people as possible’Nearly all of Ligia Level’s family lived in a trio of apartment blocks along Hotel Avenue, a seafront sweep of palm-specked resorts and high-rise condos along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.When a powerful “doublet” of earthquakes
  
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• Venezuela earthquakes: 589 confirmed dead so far as international rescue teams arrive – as it happened

  26-06-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereChina’s president Xi Jinping said Beijing was ready to provide Venezuela with “disaster relief and reconstruction” assistance.Xi sent a message of condolence to Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez today, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Continue reading...
  
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• Massive wins and the promise of change – but that’s where the Starmer-Albanese similarities end

  26-06-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  While Anthony Albanese calls ousted British PM Keir Starmer his mate, the pair share very different political fortunesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese channelled Paul Keating as he spoke to government MPs in Canberra this week, reflecting on the tough work of reform.Keating, Albanese said, considered Labor to be a bit like a bicycle. “It only stands up when you pedal,” the party grandee once warned, suggesting that without ideas, direction o
  
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• Here we Joh again? The spectre of Bjelke-Petersen still looms large over Queensland

  26-06-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  The LNP’s unapologetic moves on Indigenous issues, crime, transgender healthcare and police-led suppression of protests are a throwback to days many thought had come and goneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA sign stopped Aunty Sandra King in her tracks. The elder of the Yagara, Quandamooka and Bundjalung people, now in her 70s, spoke at a protest last month against plans to build an Olympic stadium in the heart of Brisbane’s Victoria Park.In the crowd a man
  
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• Death toll from Venezuela earthquakes rises to at least 589, with thousands reported missing

  26-06-2026 14:23 via foxnews.com
  
  The death toll from the catastrophic series of earthquakes that rocked Venezuela this week has risen to at least 589, with at least 2,980 injured and thousands more missing as U.S. military leadership has arrived in Caracas to help coordinate relief efforts. The number of dead is expected to climb Friday following back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that hit northern Venezuela on Wednesday night, roughly 120 miles west of Caracas. Venezuelan state TV has broad
  
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• ‘Everyone is talking about Cape Verde’: World Cup run delights diaspora community in UK

  26-06-2026 14:03 via theguardian.com
  Cape Verdeans in Britain feeling ‘incredibly proud’ after team’s hard-fought draws against Spain and UruguayWorld Cup live – latest updatesFor as long as she can remember, 13-year-old Lauryn struggled to find a map that included Cape Verde. Now, to her great delight, the tiny African island nation is finally centre stage.“Seeing our country shown across the world at the World Cup makes me feel incredibly proud,” Lauryn says. “After the first match, every
  
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