‘Fast-track’ regulation could expose Britons to harmful chemicals, say campaigners 13. June 2026 (07:00) Exclusive: Fighting Dirty taking legal action against government over proposal it says could import weaker standardsAn environmental campaign group is taking legal action against the government over proposals that it claims could fast-track chemical hazard classifications from other countries with lower standards into UK law.Fighting Dirty claims proposals to change the classification and labelling of potentially hazardous chemicals could result in the UK weakening standards on cancer-causing substances. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Riots and racism: why is the UK burning? 13. June 2026 (07:00) Claims of two-tier policing and uncontrolled immigration may not be borne out by the facts, but that has not stopped them being played up for political endsAs the people of Glengormley, on the northern edge of Belfast, tidied up and prepared for more violence in the midst of what has been described as a modern-day pogrom, a court 500 miles away in Southampton, on the south coast of England, started to deal with its own outbreak of thuggery.The trigger for this week’s riots in the Northern Irish capital had been the image of a black assailant who appeared to be stabbing and slashing his supine white victim in the face and neck while shouting in Arabic. The suspect was later revealed to be a refugee from Sudan. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dutch far-right party pays damages to court artist after changing image with AI 13. June 2026 (06:00) Geert Wilders’ PVV altered sketch of jailed Syrian brothers to make them look more menacingA Dutch court artist has received damages after an MP for the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) used one of her drawings without permission and manipulated it with AI to make the subjects look more menacing.Petra Urban, a court artist for 19 years, was shocked to discover a drawing she had made last year of two Syrian brothers jailed for the murder of their sister had been reworked and used in a video on Instagram and Facebook by the party’s Noord-Brabant region. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trees may store less planet-heating carbon than hoped, study suggests 13. June 2026 (06:00) Photosynthesis does not always result in wood growth, a key factor in carbon dioxide sequestrationTrees may not be able to store as much planet-heating carbon as hoped, a study suggests, with researchers finding photosynthesis does not always lead to wood growth.Scientists studied 137 sites across the US and found trees stopped growing months before the point in the year at which photosynthesis stopped. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Woman in critical condition after shark attack at Coogee beach 13. June 2026 (04:03) A woman in her 30s has been transported to hospital with arm and leg injuries and beaches in Sydney’s east have been closed after the attackGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman in her 30s is in a critical condition after being bitten by a shark at Coogee beach on Saturday.A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said the woman suffered arm and leg injuries and had been taken by road to St Vincent’s hospital. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump says leader of Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang killed in US strike 13. June 2026 (03:51) President says Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores killed in ‘swift and lethal’ military strike with help from VenezuelaThe US military has killed a leader in the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, with the help of Venezuela, Donald Trump announced on Friday.“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Judge orders restoration of national park plaques removed under Trump directive 13. June 2026 (03:04) Officials given 21 days to comply with order after Angel Kelley condemns administration for ‘telling half-truths’A US district court judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate any history or science materials it removed from the nation’s public monuments, finding that the White House’s actions “set a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization”.In March 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “restoring truth and sanity to American history”, calling upon the secretary of interior to examine monuments, memorials and statues to see if they had been altered after January 2020 to represent a “false construction of American history”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Spencer Pratt concedes LA mayor race, but declares ‘war’ against advancing candidates 13. June 2026 (02:35) In video, The Hills actor, who did not contest the outcome of the election, said his campaign to ‘save’ LA was just startingSpencer Pratt appeared to concede the Los Angeles mayor’s race on Friday in a new video where he says “the campaign portion of my mission to save Los Angeles is coming to a close”, but declares “war” against the two candidates advancing to the city’s general election.In the video posted on social media, Pratt notably did not contest the results of the election, despite Donald Trump’s repeated, but unfounded claims the race was “rigged”. Trump, who endorsed Pratt, called California’s elections “crooked”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gene Shalit, longtime Today show movie critic, dies at 100 13. June 2026 (02:25) Beloved movie critic and arts reporter was known for bushy hair and mustache and affection for groan-inducing punsGene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the Today show over four decades who was known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.Shalit’s family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia can switch from fossil fuel exports to renewables, says next Cop president 13. June 2026 (02:00) Climate minister Chris Bowen says country must prepare for changing world and can play bigger role in reducing emissionsAustralia will find exporting fossil fuels increasingly difficult but can switch to exporting clean energy products, the president of the next UN climate negotiations has declared.Speaking at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, argued his country had led the global push to “transition away from fossil fuels” – based on the rapid growth of renewable energy and batteries in its domestic power grids – and that its economy could manage the switch. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
