US supreme court dismisses Alabama’s bid to execute intellectually disabled man 21. May 2026 (19:54) Court throws out state’s challenge to judicial finding that inmate convicted of murder is ineligible for death penaltyThe US supreme court on Thursday threw out a challenge by the state of Alabama to a judicial finding that a death row inmate convicted of a 1997 murder is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible under the US constitution for the death penalty.In this highly unusual move, and in a single-sentence, unsigned order, the court dismissed Alabama’s petition for review in Hamm v Smith without deciding it, effectively undoing its earlier decision to take up an appeal by state officials to the method used by a lower court to determine that Joseph Clifton Smith was intellectually disabled and therefore could not be executed. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ebola: US ban on travellers from DRC, Uganda or South Sudan ‘not the solution’ 21. May 2026 (19:41) Africa CDC says restrictions could increase public health risks and highlight ‘deeper structural injustice’ in global healthA US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have said.The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday and continues to spread, with a new case reported in the DRC’s South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cubans outraged at US charges against Raúl Castro but view military strikes as serious possibility 21. May 2026 (18:15) It’s a nerve-racking time for Havana neighbours of top Cuban officials as fears of US attack growA new question in being asked in Havana as people digest the news that the US has brought criminal charges against Cuba’s 94-year-old former president, Raúl Castro: who’s your neighbour?If you happen to live near a senior figure in Cuba’s government or armed forces, others suck their teeth in an expression of concerned sympathy. For the first time, US military strikes on the island are being considered a serious possibility. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Oil markets nearing ‘red zone’ as Iran crisis continues, warns IEA chief 21. May 2026 (18:10) Surging demand, low reserves and reduced Middle East exports predicted to cause global crunch by AugustOil markets will enter the “red zone” by July and August as stocks dwindle before the summer travel season amid a shortage of fresh oil exports from the Middle East, the executive director of the International Energy Agency warned on Thursday.Fatih Birol added that the most important solution to the Iran war energy shock was a full and unconditional reopening of the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The far-right Israeli minister taunting detained Gaza activists – The Latest 21. May 2026 (17:49) Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has triggered global outrage after sharing footage of himself taunting bound activists who had been detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid. The video has been widely condemned by world leaders, including the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and by Israeli politicians, among them the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison – watch on YouTube Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senate Republicans expected to ditch $1bn funding plan for Trump’s ballroom 21. May 2026 (17:27) Top Republicans fear diverting taxpayer dollars toward the White House ballroom will alienate voters before midtermsSenate Republican leaders are expected to ditch a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Donald Trump’s White House ballroom following a backlash from members of their own party.Under pressure from Trump, top Republican lawmakers tried to latch the proposal on to a roughly $70bn bill to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the border patrol. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tennessee set to execute first person forced to represent himself at trial in more than a century 21. May 2026 (17:16) Tony Carruthers’s lawyers say no evidence tied him to 1994 crimes he was convicted of and is mentally incompetentSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailTennessee is scheduled on Thursday to execute a prison inmate whose lawyers claim there was no physical evidence tying him to the crimes he was convicted of and is mentally incompetent. Additionally, the inmate’s lawyers believe that the state may be using expired lethal injection drugs to carry out the sentence.Tony Carruthers, 57, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the 1994 kidnappings and murders of Marcellos Anderson; his mother, Delois Anderson; and Frederick Tucker, in Memphis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Macron under pressure over reparatory justice for France’s role in slave trade 21. May 2026 (17:05) Demands grow for launch of formal discussion process on how country should address legacies of enslavementEmmanuel Macron is under pressure to open discussions on reparatory justice for France’s role in hundreds of years of enslavement of African people as he makes a key speech on the legacy of slavery.On Thursday the French president will celebrate the 25th anniversary of France becoming the first country in the world to recognise the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity in a 2001 law brought by Christiane Taubira, a former MP from French Guiana. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New Orleans prosecutors file formal battery charges against Shia LaBeouf 21. May 2026 (17:03) Prosecutors opt not to pursue hate-crime charges over February incident despite anti-gay slurs captured on videoNew Orleans state prosecutors on Thursday filed formal misdemeanor battery charges against Shia LaBeouf, four months after police officers there arrested him on allegations that he struck three men at a bar.That move from the office of local district attorney Jason Williams means prosecutors opted to not pursue hate-crime charges against LaBeouf, the star of the Transformers film franchise, despite claims evidently supported by video that LaBeouf aimed anti-gay slurs at the alleged victims. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
WiseTech begins redundancies – but omits ‘AI’ from emails to Chinese employees, workers say 21. May 2026 (17:00) ASX-listed company announced in February it would lay off almost 30% of its 7,000-strong workforce across 40 countriesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWiseTech has begun informing staff that they will lose their jobs as part of redundancies the company has said is due to artificial intelligence advancements – although an email to staff in China omitted the word “AI” after a court case against another company in the country.Staff at WiseTech have been waiting almost three months to be told if they are among the 2,000 people the logistics software company is to cut due to advances in AI. The Australian Stock Exchange-listed company announced in late February it would lay off almost 30% of its 7,000-strong workforce across 40 countries. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
