Confusion deepened around US-Iran diplomacy after President Donald Trump insisted negotiations were still moving ahead, even as an Iranian state-linked report said Tehran had put indirect talks with Washington on hold. "Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post. Earlier, Iran's state news agency Tasnim reported that Tehran was suspending indirect negotiations with the US after Israel ordered its forces to advance further ‌into Lebanon. Speaking by…

Russia unleashed air attacks on several of Ukraine’s biggest cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 60, officials said, after days of warnings that Moscow was preparing a large-scale assault. The strikes came as the war, now more than four years old, continues to batter critical infrastructure on both sides. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power network and other vital facilities, while Ukraine has intensified attacks this year on Russian oil sites. Both sides…

Even before he arrived in Washington, Peter Mandelson was making a personal pledge: appoint him as Britain’s ambassador to the US, he wrote, and the government would “never regret” it. That assurance has now surfaced in a fresh cache of official papers released alongside thousands of documents about the controversial posting. The government published the second batch of records this afternoon, shedding more light on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the high-profile Washington role to Mr Mandelson…

The threat of a wider war sharpened on Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had warned US President Donald Trump that Israel would hit Beirut if Hezbollah kept up attacks on Israeli communities. "I spoke with President Trump this evening and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our towns and our citizens, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement from his office. "Our position on this issue has not changed. At the same time, the IDF will continue…

Russia has denounced France's seizure of an oil tanker in the Atlantic, calling the operation "illegal" and likening it to "piracy" after Paris said the ship was breaching sanctions. "We view these actions as illegal; they verge on international piracy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that "Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo." French prosecutors said the tanker's Russian captain refused to obey orders from the French navy, leaving authorities with no choice but to board and take control…

Rwanda has lost its bid to force the UK to hand over more than £100m (€115m) tied to the collapsed migrant deportation pact, after an international court found Britain did not owe the outstanding money. Judges at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled that the UK was not liable for two years of unpaid costs linked to the scheme, which was abandoned in 2024. The agreement was struck in 2022, when former UK prime minister Boris Johnson signed a deal with Kigali to send to Rwanda migrants who arrived in…

What should have been a jubilant procession through north London also tested emergency crews, with about 75 people rescued from height and 16 arrests made during Arsenal’s parade yesterday, officials said. Thousands of Arsenal supporters packed the streets around the Emirates Stadium to watch the team take part in their Premier League trophy parade. As clouds of red smoke drifted through the area, some fans scrambled up trees, rooftops and traffic lights in a bid to catch a glimpse of the players aboard the team bus. London…

Deep mistrust, shifting signals from Washington and Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon are slowing efforts to bring the US-Iran war to a close, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, describing diplomacy as bogged down in suspicion. "Negotiations are underway in an atmosphere of profound suspicion and mistrust, and messages are being exchanged within that climate," Mr Baghaei said. "The other side keeps altering its position and raising new or contradictory demands (...) it is only natural that this…

In the 1970s, 'The Six Million Dollar Man' became one of television’s defining sci-fi hits. The series followed astronaut Steve Austin, who survives a catastrophic test-flight crash only to be rebuilt — at immense expense — with "bionic" limbs that let him pull off superhuman feats. He goes on to work as a spy, dispatching the standard parade of villains along the way. The role turned Lee Majors into a household name, delivering 99 episodes and six TV movies. It also helped cement his celebrity status — Farrah Fawcett became…

A birthday celebration for America’s 250th anniversary has become a political flashpoint after US President Donald Trump urged organizers to scrap a planned concert series and replace it with a rally led by him. "We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain," Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: "Cancel it." The call came after several performers withdrew soon after…