UK to ban under-16s from ‘high risk’ social media apps 12. June 2026 (19:28) Measures to include restrictions on ‘safe’ social media apps, with some fearing banning some platforms and not others will lead to legal challengesTeenagers under the age of 16 are to be banned from accessing “high-risk” social media apps while safer platforms will be subjected to restrictions, under a sweeping government crackdown.Under-18s will also be banned from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots after a consultation on keeping children safe online. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Texas shooting leaves one person dead and nine others in hospital 12. June 2026 (19:26) Midland police reported that the suspected shooter was dead after a two-hour standoffSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA shooting on Friday in Midland, Texas, has killed one person and sent a further nine to the hospital with injuries, according to the city’s authorities.The possible suspect was in a standoff with officers for around two hours but later on Friday afternoon was reported deceased, police and the city’s mayor said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Louisiana jury awards $1.1bn to woman who sued over childhood molestation in 1960s 12. June 2026 (19:25) ‘Lookback law’ allowed Pamela Lockridge to seek damages against late stepfather who abused her starting at age fourA north-west Louisiana jury recently awarded a staggering $1.1bn in damages to a woman who sued over childhood sexual molestation at the hands of her late stepfather in the 1960s and 1970s – a verdict that the plaintiff says “sends a message that children are precious” and “deserve protection”.The outcome in Pamela Elaine Lockridge’s lawsuit caused waves among Louisiana’s legal community, illustrating how much civil juries are willing to award to plaintiffs for cases tried under the state’s so-called “lookback law”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Latest US release of UFO files reveals strange lights but few hard facts 12. June 2026 (19:20) New batch of government documents takes no position on origin of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs)A possible UFO sighting over a busy southern African airport, and yet more mysterious glowing orbs in the sky above the US, feature in the latest batch of previously classified documents released by the Pentagon on Friday in its stated quest for “transparency” amid the irrepressible debate about the chances of extraterrestrial life.In keeping with the first two document drops of government papers last month, Friday’s tranche of more than 50 files contains no proof that the tantalizing videos and written accounts of possible alien encounters are anything other than perception, vivid imagination or conspiracy theories. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups urge G7 to take action on Gaza 12. June 2026 (18:00) Paris meeting draws up proposals and calls for urgent diplomacy towards two-state solution at summit next weekPalestinian and Israeli civil society groups meeting in Paris on Friday have urged G7 leaders to act at their summit in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains next week to save the narrowing chances of a two-state solution.The groups called for specific action on enforcing a ceasefire, disarming Hamas and starting reconstruction in Gaza, and said the various peace processes including the Board of Peace initiative should be integrated into one programme. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Remove Windrush payout scheme from Home Office control, campaigners urge 12. June 2026 (17:29) Public figures sign open letter calling for scheme to be moved from Home Office to independent bodyUK politics live – latest updatesThe prime minister and the home secretary have been urged to remove the Windrush compensation scheme from Home Office control.About 70 public figures have signed an open letter backing a call by the Windrush Justice Community Collective (WJCC) for a radical overhaul of the scheme, which was set up to compensate those, mainly Black Britons, who were wrongly classed as illegal migrants and stripped of citizenship rights over decades. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Judge extends block on Trump’s $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponization’ fund 12. June 2026 (17:28) Trump administration created fund to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returnsSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA US federal judge agreed on Friday to extend a court-ordered block on the Trump administration’s creation and operation of a $1.8bn settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.Earlier this month, Todd Blanche, the acting US attorney general, told Congress that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund in the face of a fierce bipartisan backlash. Government attorneys have argued that lawsuits challenging the fund are now moot, but plaintiffs’ attorneys aren’t satisfied by Blanche’s assurances that the fund won’t move forward. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘I’m not walking away,’ says Starmer despite defence secretary’s exit 12. June 2026 (17:02) PM promises to fight any leadership challenge, saying any successor would face same problems as himUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has said he knows he has to “turn things around” after a series of crises culminating in the resignation of John Healey, the defence secretary, but warned that any successor would face the same difficult decisions.In an interview with the BBC after Healey’s departure in a row over defence spending, Starmer promised again to fight any leadership challenge from Andy Burnham or others, saying: “I’m not going to walk away.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Liberals are scaring first-home buyers with warnings of negative equity – but experts believe there’s little to worry about 12. June 2026 (17:00) Exclusive: Economists say falling house prices are largely in the more expensive parts of Sydney and Melbourne’s markets and are less likely to affect first-time property ownersFears that first-time buyers with tiny deposits will find their mortgages are worth more than their homes may be assuaged by new data showing falling prices are concentrated in the top end of the Sydney and Melbourne property markets.Climbing inflation, interest rates and worries about the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict have helped depress housing values in the country’s two biggest cities. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Can Starmer’s late-night World Cup openings help Britain’s struggling pubs? 12. June 2026 (17:00) While venues could stay open until 2am, rising costs remain a far bigger concern for many landlords Picture the scene: it’s 1am on a sultry July night and Jude Bellingham has just scored the decisive penalty to send England into the World Cup semi-final. Cue wild celebrations among millions of pub goers, fuelled by the realisation that there is still an hour until closing time.Keir Starmer may have imagined a national morale-boosting spectacle such as this when his government told hospitality venues that they could stay open until 2am on some World Cup match days. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
