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)
How extreme heat is exposing extreme inequality 01. July 2026 (18:30) The climate crisis and worsening disparity could be responsible for more than 100,000 deaths a year in Europe, which should set off alarm bells for policymakers• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereCall it a tale of two heatwave experiences.As brutally hot conditions brought much of western Europe to its knees, an American writer living in Paris asserted that, for many, the heat was not “nearly as apocalyptic” as most media were suggesting. He said he had yet to buy a fan, instead relying on closed shutters, misting sessions and open windows in the evening to keep his ground-level flat cool. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Teachers in England get two-year 6.6% pay rise but schools to foot part of bill 01. July 2026 (18:29) Unions pleased with rise above forecast inflation but concerned nearly a third of it will come from school budgetsUK politics live – latest updatesTeachers in England will receive a 3.5% pay rise from September and a further 3% next year, with extra school funding to meet most but not all of the higher wage bill, the government has announced.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said the government would accept the pay recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which were substantially higher than the government’s initial proposals. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham says ‘nothing off table’ in case of Rochdale grooming gang leader 01. July 2026 (17:52) Labour leader-in-waiting wants to close loophole preventing deportation of sex offenderAndy Burnham will explore “all possible options”, if he becomes prime minister, to close a legal loophole that prevented the deportation of a “vile” Rochdale grooming gang leader.In his first significant intervention as Labour leader-in-waiting, Burnham said nothing would be “off the table” in the case of Shabir Ahmed, 73, who is expected to be released from prison on Thursday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
