
Man accused of Starmer arson attacks did not know he was PM, court hears
Ukrainian accused of arson against PM Starmer says he didn't know him

Crew members on the MV Hondius are set for medical evacuation to the Netherlands due to a suspected hantavirus outbreak that has reportedly killed at least three passengers. The ship is currently stranded off the coast of Cape Verde.
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Several crew members on the MV Hondius are being prepared for medical evacuation to the Netherlands, as the cruise ship continues to be marooned off the coast of Cape Verde following a suspected hantavirus outbreak that is believed to have killed at least three passengers.

The Iran-flagged container vessel Hamouna anchored in the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said on Tuesday that though the Iran conflict was not resolved, the initial major US military operation against Iran had concluded. Soon after, Donald Trump said he was pausing “Project Freedom”, the US plan to guide vessels out of the strait of Hormuz.
The pause, which came just one day after its launch, would be for “a short period” to give space for US efforts to finalize a settlement with Iran to end the war, Trump said.
The hantavirus outbreak is suspected to have originated from infected rodents aboard the ship.
At least three passengers have reportedly died due to the suspected hantavirus outbreak.
Crew members are being prepared for medical evacuation to the Netherlands, while plans to sail to the Canary Islands are under discussion.
The Spanish health ministry, along with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization, plans to examine and treat the crew and passengers.

Ukrainian accused of arson against PM Starmer says he didn't know him

Pope Leo rejects Trump's claim of supporting nuclear weapons, emphasizes peace.

Powerful figures are increasingly suing media outlets before stories are even published, warns WSJ editor Emma Tucker.

Lancashire county council becomes first to quit refugee resettlement scheme

Iran's IRGC guarantees safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz after US pauses operations for stranded ships.

How the FDD Think Tank Influences Trump's Iran Strategy
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A voting sign outside the Bartholomew county governmental office building in Columbus, Indiana. Photograph: Obed Lamy/AP
A majority of the Indiana Republican legislators who had stood up to Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure them into redrawing the congressional districts lost their primaries on Tuesday to candidates that had Trump’s backing.

Antonio Villaraigosa, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton, Chad Bianco and Xavier Becerra participate in a California gubernatorial debate hosted by CNN on Tuesday. Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

To catch up to other major cities, the US would require an enormous investment. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images
A recent study highlights exactly how far the sprawling, car-dominated US has fallen behind cities around the world when it comes to public transportation. According to the study, it would take $4.6tn and 7,500 miles of new dedicated infrastructure built over the next 20 years in order for major American cities to bring their public transit systems up to par.

Medical pedicures, also known as medi-pedis, are a bridge between aesthetics and podiatry care. Photograph: Andriy Popov/Alamy
After a deep-freeze winter in New York, Jinnie Lee’s feet needed serious care. A pedicure didn’t seem enough to treat two split heels or the thick callus pads that had formed under her big toes. Then Lee discovered the medi-pedi – a medical pedicure that goes beyond nail polish and includes treatment from a licensed podiatrist.

‘We once talked about fake news; now it is reality itself that feels fake,’ writes Katharine Viner. Illustration: Guardian Design
Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, writes about the importance of independent journalism in an age when technology is pulling us apart. “Journalism is not a ‘content business’….No, it is a part of our shared civic infrastructure, human infrastructure, societal infrastructure. It’s the connective tissue that helps fight isolation and sustains democracy,” Viner writes.

Moulin Rouge! turns 25 this year Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy
Spectacular, spectacular! Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! turns 25 this year. In celebration of the anniversary, some of the cast and crew spoke to the Guardian about their favorite moments from working on the film. “It felt a bit like drama school,” said Jacek Koman, who played the Unconscious Argentinean, a performer suffering from narcolepsy. “We felt really supported and inspired. You could always pop in to watch someone else’s dance training or singing.”

Natasha Walter has written a book about feminism, specifically the effect of climate change on women’s lives and their rights. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian
In her new book, Feminism for a World on Fire, Natasha Walter argues that it is women who will suffer most from the floods, fires and resource scarcity to come from the climate crisis. “All the threats that women face seem to be amplified by climate change,” Walter said in an interview with the Guardian.

The Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City, home to the Japan nightclub and focus of concerns about the prevalence of foreigners. Photograph: Carlo Echegoyen/AFP via Getty Images Photograph: Carlo Echegoyen/AFP via Getty Images
A Mexico City nightclub said it is charging Americans a nearly $300 cover charge while citizens from any other country pay just $20 for access, and Mexicans and other Latin Americans pay only $14.
The announcement from the nightclub Japan in the Roma Norte neighborhood has been liked more than 26,000 times and received more than 200 comments, mostly supporting the policy as part of a broader revolt in the capital against what many see as a US takeover.
“It’s not that ‘we charge gringos more’, it’s that we offer discounts to people that need it,” the club said. “The cover charge is $5,000 [pesos]. Citizens of the USA don’t get a discount.”
The club’s owner, Federico Crespo, said the tiered pricing was a response to the “gentrification and touristification” of the city, but also a reflection of deteriorating Mexico-US relations under Donald Trump.
“This is a response to a year of insults directed at us – as a country – by the United States,” he said. “It’s very much a response to the many attacks against Mexico from Trump.”
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