UK ‘minded to’ intervene in Paramount’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery 30. June 2026 (14:53) Lisa Nandy to ask regulators to assess mega-merger involving Channel 5, CNN and TNT Sports on grounds of media plurality and competitionThe UK culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, intends to ask the British media and competition watchdogs to examine Paramount’s $110bn (£85bn) acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.The WBD takeover deal will create a media powerhouse controlling assets including: the Hollywood studios behind franchises including Superman, Batman and Top Gun; the UK’s Channel 5; news channel CNN; TNT Sports, which broadcasts Champions League, Premier League and the Olympics; and the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Monaco bombing was ‘attempted assassination’, not terror attack, say prosecutors – Europe live 30. June 2026 (14:44) Authorities are still searching to identify the suspect of an alleged assassination attempt of a Ukrainian business tycoonUkraine is in touch with authorities in Monaco after a bomb attack there injured three people of Ukrainian descent, the country’s foreign ministry said.All three are members of one family, the ministry said, citing information it received from local emergency services, Reuters reported. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
One million migrants in Spain apply to regularise status in new scheme 30. June 2026 (14:43) Programme defending benefits of immigration attracts double number of applicants expectedMore than 1 million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers have applied to regularise their status in Spain under a government programme to harness and defend the benefits of immigration at a time when most European countries are pulling up the drawbridge.Although the massive regularisation initiative, announced by the socialist-led government in January, was originally intended to benefit about 500,000 people, it had attracted more than twice that number of applicants by the time the registration period ended on Tuesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer warns Burnham not to borrow to fund defence as he reveals £15bn plan 30. June 2026 (14:15) The prime minister unveiled his long-awaited defence investment plan on Tuesday after months of delaysKeir Starmer warned his successor not to borrow more to pay for defence as he raided energy, transport and housing projects to plug a military spending deficit with an extra £15bn over the next four years.The prime minister revealed his long-awaited defence investment plan (Dip) on Tuesday after an 11-month government row that cost him his defence secretary and arguably contributed to his downfall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
China is a clear winner from Trump’s war in Middle East, report concludes 30. June 2026 (13:11) Beijing, whose stockpiles and renewables industry allowed it to withstand energy shock, is now gaining from global solar and EV pushChina has emerged as the sole winner in Asia from the strait of Hormuz crisis, according to a report published on Tuesday.The report by the Asia Group thinktank concluded that China had weathered the storm of the global commodities crisis resulting from the closure of the Middle Eastern waterway, and also stood to gain from the economic and geopolitical trends sparked by the wider conflict. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Reform UK chair of Welsh environment committee may ‘undermine scrutiny’, says thinktank 30. June 2026 (13:00) Climate campaigners question choice of James Evans for role given past criticism of green energy projectsUK politics live – latest updatesThe appointment of a Reform UK member of the Senedd Cymru as the chair of a key Welsh environmental committee could “undermine the hard graft of ministerial scrutiny”, a green thinktank has warned.James Evans, a former Conservative party MS who defected to Reform UK in January last year, has been appointed chair of the Welsh climate change, environment, sustainability and rural affairs committee. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Did US drug agents allow lethal fentanyl to hit New Mexico’s streets? 30. June 2026 (13:00) Explosive AP story based on whistleblower testimony suggests agents ‘sat back and watched’ in hopes of securing larger drug-trafficking bustDid the Drug Enforcement Agency break the law and gamble with public safety when it permitted large quantities of fentanyl pills to be trafficked in New Mexico in the hopes of getting a larger drug-trafficking bust?That is the question at the heart of an explosive story published in the Associated Press, based on information provided by a former DEA agent turned whistleblower; the whistleblower filed a complaint in 2023 that claimed agents had allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills into Albuquerque – a city still reeling from the opioid crisis while many others across the country are seeing overdose rates decline. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Police units deployed across South Africa before anti-immigration marches 30. June 2026 (12:20) Government fears repeat of anti-migrant violence in 2008 that led to looting and resulted in deaths of 62 peopleSouth African authorities have deployed police units to towns and cities around the country before planned demonstrations against undocumented foreign nationals.Security personnel were seen patrolling the central business district in Johannesburg, the economic capital, where many shopkeepers decided not to open on Tuesday. Trucks and other assets belonging to the South African National Defence Force were also present, according to local media reports. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kash Patel draws flak for posting FBI case details on social media ‘to make himself look good’ 30. June 2026 (12:00) FBI veterans believe director may have flouted legal rules by prematurely divulging details of UFC attack plot inquiryKash Patel may have flouted legal constraints and the FBI’s disciplinary code in prematurely divulging arrests in an alleged plot to attack this month’s Ultimate Fighting Championship bout at the White House, bureau veterans have alleged. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer unveils long-delayed defence investment plan amid ‘too little, too late’ criticism – UK politics live 30. June 2026 (11:53) Defence investment plan, which was originally due in the autumn, criticised by Tories and Lib DemsKeir Starmer is speaking now.They are at Malloy Aeronautics, a firm that designs heavy-lift drones, and Starmer says this morning they showed him one of the heaviest drones he had ever seen.Last year, I made the decision in the national interest to reprioritise aid spending towards defence and achieve the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the cold war.That was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
