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Middle East crisis live: US military launches strikes against Iran after Trump vowed response to downing of helicopter

The Associated Press is reporting that the US army helicopter that crashed off the coast of Oman went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, citing a US official. AP reports that it is not clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements from the US government only said the crash is under investigation. On Tuesday Donald Trump said Iran shot down the aircraft while it was on patrol over the strait of Hormuz and declared that the US “must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” in a post to social media. Hours later the US military began new strikes on Iran.

Passenger on train to London given first sentence for harassment under new law

A train passenger has become the first person to be sentenced under a new harassment law after a prosecution brought by the British Transport Police (BTP). David Stroud, 44, grabbed a woman’s hair and asked her “can I kiss you?” on a rail journey to London on 3 April, two days after the new legislation came into force banning harassment motivated by a person’s sex. The new offence, under section 4B of the Public Order Act 1986, covers intentional harassment directed at someone because of their sex, including where perpetrators target women and girls in public places, including streets, parks and public transport. Stroud, who admitted he had harassed the woman because of her gender, was “constantly leaning on to the woman” and got closer, telling her “you’re magical” and grabbing her hair which the victim “perceived to be sexual”, Highbury Corner magistrates court previously heard. He was arrested at London Bridge station after the incident on a train from Hastings, East Sussex, and while under caution he said: “It’s just banter, we had banter together, do you know what I mean?” Stroud, from Dartford in Kent, was on bail after admitting to a separate 22-month stalking campaign when he harassed the victim on a train. He was given a community order on Tuesday. Det Supt Sam Painter of the BTP told the Press Association: “We recognise that this offending, in terms of the scale and the nature of it, has been going on for too long.” As of Monday, 26 men had been arrested for the offence across BTP’s network since it came into effect on 1 April. Offenders can face up to two years behind bars under the new law, which Painter said “recognises the seriousness of the offending” and the impact it has on women and girls. Olivia Rose, the Crown Prosecution Service’s lead on stalking and deputy chief crown prosecutor, said the new offence “bridges the gap between where conduct is serious but perhaps doesn’t quite meet the threshold for sexual assault. “This deals with that, because otherwise we would find that there would be cases that might fall within that gap.” Stroud had previously pleaded guilty to a separate stalking campaign, the court heard. He stalked his ex-partner’s adult daughter, going to her home regularly and sending her unwanted gifts and over 200 emails. He was sentenced for both offences together and received a 12-month community order and was told to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity. The former technician at a water company was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and be fitted with an alcohol abstinence monitoring tag for 90 days. Judge Jackson also made a five-year restraining order against him for the stalking victim and ordered the defendant to pay £85 court costs and a £114 surcharge. Speaking to reporters outside court, Stroud said: “The law changes and it is what it is. I was just unlucky that I was the first person at the time.” He said the victim impact statement made him appear like “a monster”. “I wasn’t a monster. We had an amicable chat about her iridescent hair.” He added: “I realised that I’d overstepped the line. And I walked away of my own accord because I thought, right, now it’s time to go.” Amelia Whitworth, head of policy, campaigns and youth at charity Plan International UK, said: “We spent years tirelessly campaigning alongside dedicated youth activists for this law. The first conviction is an encouraging early sign that it is being implemented and helping to provide some justice for survivors. “This will go some way to help those affected to feel confident coming forward and able to access support.”

Lawyer for murdered French girl’s family calls for more justice system funding

A lawyer for the family of an 11-year-old girl whose disappearance and murder sparked protests across France has called for more funding for the struggling justice system, amid a political row over the French state’s failure to tackle sexual violence against children. “Frankly, if the justice system had more resources, this tragedy and all the others wouldn’t have happened,” said the family’s lawyer, François Roujou de Boubée, on Tuesday. “The victim’s family and I trust in the justice system. So enough is enough.” Roujou de Boubée said the family of the girl, named only as Lyhanna, whose body was found in south-western France last week, did not want the government to use her murder for political reasons or to promise any new law or reform. Nor should the government be blaming investigators, he said. Lyhanna’s murder has pushed the issue of male violence against girls to the top of the agenda ahead of next year’s presidential election. She went missing on 29 May near Fleurance, a small town of about 6,000 people that lies 50 miles (80km) outside Toulouse. Her body was found seven days later in an out-of-use grain silo between two villages in the Gers area. She was last seen outside her school in the car of a 41-year-old man, Jérôme Barella, the father of one of her classmates. Barella, who was taken into custody before Lyhanna’s body was found, has denied killing her, telling police he had dropped her off at a local swimming pool. There was outrage in France when it emerged that Barella had been reported to police several times for the alleged rape of girls in recent years, but had not been arrested. In August 2025, he was reported to police for an alleged series of rapes of a 10-year-old girl, but nine months later, when Lyhanna went missing, he still had not been questioned. He had worked as a cleaner at several schools, and was fired from one for alleged inappropriate behaviour online with a female student. On Tuesday, the mother who reported Barella to police last year for the alleged rapes of her then 10-year-old daughter said she would now sue the state and the justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, over the failure to arrest and question the suspect. The woman, using only her first name, Audrey, claimed Barella had manipulated her daughter to prevent her speaking out. “He said to her: ‘If you tell anyone I’ll go to prison and kill myself.’” Audrey said her daughter’s case was backed by medical and psychological examinations, and the child had been interviewed by officers. “I tried to do my best but the justice system didn’t follow.” Audrey said she had called the police station every Monday morning to ask for updates, but would always be told: “The investigation is ongoing.” Recently, she claimed she had been told by one officer “that if I kept harassing them they’d sue me”. The interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said call logs would be looked at to identify who had made that comment. Audrey’s lawyer, Pierre Debuisson, said the French justice system must become more “humane” and “things must change”. He said the majority of investigating magistrates in France were excellent, but some were “catastrophic” and some investigators had been lazy. Darmanin has refused to resign, while criticising what he called a “huge failure” in the handling of previous accusations against the suspect. He ordered 70,000 legal complaints for violence against children to be re-examined within the next month. But the lawyer for Lyhanna’s family said this was not credible, given the justice system’s lack of resources. Before a minute’s silence in parliament on Tuesday, the leader of the national assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, said: “France has collectively failed.” She said it was not a question of looking for “scapegoats” because “the problem is systemic”. Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Rally party, said France “needed to reflect on the workings on the justice system”. Clémence Guetté, of the radical-left La France Insoumise, said the government must listen to campaigners and put “the necessary resources into the justice system, training and prevention”. The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, called a crisis meeting of ministers and said new legislation would be examined next month on dealing with all types of sexual and sexist abuse. Tens of thousands of people protested outside the justice ministry in Paris and courtrooms across France on Monday night. Some in the crowd said they were survivors of childhood sexual violence and had suffered greatly over the slow handling of official complaints. “Our anger is against a system which does not reform, and against a government that won’t listen to us,” said Anne-Cécile Mailfert of the Women’s Foundation campaign group. In a letter to Darmanin, the head of one magistrates’ union, Ludovic Friat, said France’s judicial professionals could not respond to all requests from the ministry with “four times less prosecutors than the European average”. Only 7% of complaints of sexual assault of a minor in France result in a conviction, according to Ciivise, an independent commission on incest and sexual violence against children.

Man shot dead during protest against proposed US Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya

Kenyan police have shot dead a man during a protest against a proposed Ebola quarantine facility for US citizens. Patrick Wahome, who has organised protests in Nanyuki against the centre, told Reuters on Tuesday the man died from a gunshot wound to the head. Reporters from the agency saw his body lying motionless in a police van with a large head wound. A police spokesperson said he did not have information about the incident. Dozens of people had gathered near Laikipia airbase, the proposed site of the centre in Nanyuki, 120 miles from the capital, Nairobi, some wearing protective equipment and carrying a coffin with “Ebola” written on it. Several people were arrested and police used teargas to disperse the small crowds. The non-profit Kenya Human Rights Commission said on X: “Hooded police officers ... fired live bullets and arbitrarily arrested 19 protesters.” Protesters have said they oppose the centre partly on the grounds that they did not want potential carriers of the highly contagious disease on Kenyan soil. There has been rising nationwide anger in recent weeks. Two people were killed during a protest in the town on Monday last week. The US government plans to send 30 medical personnel to staff the Nanyuki facility, which, if completed, will have 50 beds. After a petition by the Kenyan nonprofit Katiba Institute, a Nairobi court late last month temporarily blocked the establishment of the facility and the admission into the country of people exposed to Ebola. Last week, it barred the Kenyan government from proceeding with the plan before the case is resolved. The next hearing is due on 23 June. Kenya’s president, William Ruto, has vowed to press ahead, saying the country owes Washington for years of aid support. Health officials in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are battling to contain an outbreak of the virus. The outbreak was declared on 15 May but the virus is thought to have been circulating undetected for weeks before then. The epidemic, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency of international concern, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no vaccine or approved treatment. As of 6 June, the DRC had reported a total of 515 confirmed cases, with 91 deaths, while Uganda had reported 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths, as well as one probable case who has died, according to WHO figures. There have been no known cases in Kenya. Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

UK and allies impose sanctions on firms enabling West Bank settler violence

The UK in alliance with a group of other western powers including Australia, France and Norway has announced it is imposing sanctions on six firms and one individual involved in enabling and financing the recent upsurge in settler violence in the West Bank. However, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, disappointed many of her own backbenchers by stopping short of banning trade, saying instead the government was only issuing updated advice to British firms not to become involved in any economic activity with the illegal settlements. Cooper told MPs it was difficult in practice to construct an enforceable trade ban but would keep examining the issue in alliance with international partners. More than 130 Labour MPs, including all the party’s select committee chairs, had called for a complete ban on trade, saying the measure was necessary to fulfill orders issued by the international court of justice in 2024. Emily Thornberry, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, told Cooper “the truth is that British firms are bankrolling annexations one settlement at a time”, adding she feared the government was “in danger of doing too little too late”. The latest guidance explicitly advises UK businesses against economic and financial activity in illegal settlements in territories occupied by Israel since 1967, but does not amount to a ban or impose any penalty for noncompliance. The government is also not hardening its existing advice on the need to clearly label products produced in illegal settlements. Since 2005, any products produced in Israeli settlements have not been entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment upon entry to the UK. The new guidance to states: “Businesses should not engage in economic and financial activities in Israeli settlements.” Warning that the settlements are illegal under international law, it says economic activity may result in reputational damage and “in disputed titles to the land, water, mineral or other natural resources which might be the subject of purchase or investment”. But the UK advice to business continues to laud trade with Israel within 1967 lines: “With its strong economic performance in terms of growth, low inflation and a low unemployment rate, Israel offers an attractive growing market for UK companies.” The scale of settler violence has proliferated in recent months, and Israel has recently invited bids for tenders for the E1 development, a settler plan for about 3,500 homes that if implemented would sever the West Bank in two. Britain has already imposed sanctions on two Israeli extremist ministers, Bezalel Smotrich the finance minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir the security minister, a step not yet taken by the European Union because of internal divisions. Cooper said: “Settler expansion and violence is illegal and a fundamental threat to the viability of a two-state solution, and to long-term peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis. These measures show the UK is leading with our partners to target those who are fuelling this violence.” She said the steps were being taken against a backdrop of continued illegal settlement expansion including the E1 project and record levels of settler violence designed deliberately to destroy Palestinian homes and livelihoods in the West Bank. In her statement to MPs she also called on the Israeli government to open all crossings and remove arbitrary restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid and equipment to ensure that UK aid could reach all those who desperately needed it. All the crossings into Gaza have in recent days been closed by the Israelis after the government in Tel Aviv said there was no nutritional shortfall inside Gaza. The UK joined four other states, Australia, Canada France and Norway, in issuing a statement: “For too long, violent settlers have been able to act with near impunity, and settlement expansion and creation of outposts continue with the support and facilitation of the government of Israel. In some cases, settler violence takes place under the protection of Israel’s security forces. We continue to urge the government of Israel to take action to ensure meaningful accountability for violence in the West Bank “We stand ready to take more action if the government of Israel does not take urgent steps to address the situation on the ground.” The entities under sanctions mainly fundraise for settlers and include the Farms Association, Ahavat Gilad, Ari Yshag, Artzenu and Eyal Hari Yahuda. The practical impact of the UK sanctions will depend if any of these firms have funds in the UK, or trade with UK firms. Human Rights Watch described the package as the bare minimum. Christian Aid said: “It is pathetic merely to ‘advise’ British businesses against activity in illegal Israeli settlements when there are no real consequences for them. The UK government must ban all trade and investment with Israel before Palestine is erased entirely.”

Did Harold II take an arrow to the eye? We cannot be sure | Letters

Your article on the loan of the Bayeux tapestry to the British Museum states with admirable caution that Harold II is “represented in his final scenes in the embroidery with an arrow in his eye” (‘Of course we will give it back’: Bayeux tapestry set for secret journey across Channel, 3 June). But was this always the case? In 1816 the Society of Antiquaries sent their historical draughtsman Charles Stothard to draw the Bayeux tapestry. Where the threads had worn away, he put in the stitch holes. These plainly show the arrow in Harold’s helmet, not his eye. A restoration in 1824 seems to have bent the arrow further towards Harold’s eye – because the story was so strongly established, even though the earliest accounts of the Battle of Hastings do not mention it. In another part of the Bayeux tapestry, there is a figure in the lower margin who plainly does have an arrow in his eye. His mouth is open and his limbs are spread, as if he were screaming and flailing about. This is very different from Harold, who is calmly dealing with the arrow. The next image shows him being cut down by a Norman cavalryman – which would be easier had he been distracted by an arrow in his helmet. Jane M Card Harwell, Oxfordshire • Is the French minister of culture, Catherine Pégard, accurate in stating that the loan of the Bayeux tapestry would “allow the English people to contemplate on their own soil the act that was the birth of their nation”? If King Æthelstan could be contacted for comment, he may well demur. Tim Wicks Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire • Catherine Pégard appears to think that the Norman conquest of 1066 was for “the English people … the birth of their nation”. This is utterly outrageous. Instead of the return of the Bayeux tapestry signalling a new era of mutual understanding between the French and the English, the old French prejudices are clearly alive and well. A little respect for our pre-1066 Anglo-Saxon culture, and the real origins of the English nation, would be welcome from our one-time invaders. Let’s hope that they learn a thing or two from the Sutton Hoo treasures. Rev Dr John Caperon Crowborough, East Sussex • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

Our efforts to record Tiananmen atrocity | Brief letters

Your article (‘Every year I get new pictures’: the fight to preserve the memory of Tiananmen, 4 June) did not mention the Tiananmen archive held in the British Library, which includes documents and photos, and was established in June 1989. On the evening of 3 June, before any shooting had started, a large group of concerned sinologists met in my house, very worried about what was going to happen. One of our decisions that evening was to collect everything we could about Tiananmen and events there. Frances Wood London • In attempting to resist Jonathan Liew’s suggestion that people come off X, Matt Watkinson instead makes Liew’s argument for him (Letters, 3 June). He says he remains on X because all major companies “know they can reach us swiftly”. Exactly. So if you went to an alternative app, presumably the companies would follow. Lesley Taylor Cambridge • Surely the best Speke joke (Letters, 4 June) is the one about the man at the railway station who asks: “Is this train going to Speke?” To which the guard replies: “Well, I’ve been working on it for 10 years, and it hasn’t said anything yet.” Heather Cooper Cowes, Isle of Wight • JD Vance is right about the problems caused by “the mass invasion of migrants” (Report, 5 June). Look at the US and ask Native Americans how they feel. Dee Northover Bristol • Re alternative number bases (Letters, 7 June), there are 10 types of people: those who understand binary, and those who don’t. Eric Sharp Newcastle upon Tyne • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

Israeli attack on Tyre in Lebanon kills eight as evacuation ordered for Christian quarter

Israel has bombed the city of Tyre, killing eight and injuring at least 32 people, and struck dozens of other villages in south Lebanon as it issued forced evacuation orders for the historic Christian quarter of the ancient city for the first time. Israel struck the al-Masaken neighbourhood without warning on Tuesday morning, sending smoke plumes high above the city’s buildings and igniting fires. Further airstrikes were carried out across the city and a series of bombings hit Abbasieh, a village north of Tyre. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli soldiers in the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras. The Israeli army said it had killed a “terrorist” who had crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel and opened fire on Israeli soldiers – the first time in this round of fighting that a fighter from Lebanon had crossed the border. It was unclear if the gunman was affiliated with Hezbollah. Shortly after the bombings in Tyre, Israel issued a forced evacuation warning for Palestinian refugee camps in the city, as well as for the Christian quarter, claiming members of Hezbollah had infiltrated the area and could attack. Hundreds of people fled the Christian quarter after the forced evacuation announcement, with cars packed with mattresses and belongings jamming the narrow streets of the historic port neighbourhood. The Christian quarter had not been struck by Israel previously and had been considered a safe zone amid a city otherwise under bombardment. Many Shia Muslim residents of the city had moved there in hope of safety. Last week, the Lebanese army was deployed to the district as displaced people arrived, to show that Hezbollah had no armed presence in the area and to try to prevent Israeli attacks. Christian religious leaders from three different denominations in Tyre called on the international community and the Lebanese state to prevent Israel from attacking the neighbourhood. The leaders appealed to the global community to “take immediate and serious action to spare the old quarter of Tyre from destruction and human tragedies”. “The old city is not merely a residential area,” the clergy said. “It is the historical and human heart of Tyre, home to thousands of civilians, including families, children and the elderly.” They added that attacking the neighbourhood would constitute a humanitarian “catastrophe”. The city has also hosted thousands of people displaced from their villages in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army advanced northwards. The most recent strikes and evacuation orders have pushed many people into their second or even third displacement, and caused a renewed wave of displacement for the residents of Tyre’s Palestinian refugee camps, some of whom had returned from northern Lebanon after not finding shelter. Tyre is considered one of the world’s oldest cities and hosts many archaeological sites, including a Unesco world heritage site. Sunday’s attack damaged Roman ruins and other archaeological sites in Tyre, including at al-Bass, have been damaged by earlier Israeli strikes. “Some archaeological artefacts were damaged when rubble fell on them, as debris fell over a large area, impacting a large number of elements at the site – columns, capitals, column bases, mosaics,” Ali Badawi, a regional director of archaeological sites at Lebanon’s ministry of culture, told AFP. The ministry had placed enhanced protection blue-shield emblems on heritage sites in Tyre in March – signs that, under The Hague convention, afford archaeological sites protection during armed conflicts. Israel has also damaged the nearly 1000-year-old Beaufort castle, as well as blown up multiple historical buildings in different parts of southern Lebanon in recent months. The current round of fighting started on 2 March after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, triggering an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Israeli strikes have killed at least 3,666 people in Lebanon while Hezbollah has killed at least 30 Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and three Israeli civilians. The Lebanese government and Israel are negotiating in Washington to reach an end to the conflict, though Hezbollah – the party fighting Israel – is not participating in the talks. Last week, Hezbollah rejected a ceasefire proposed by the Lebanese government and Israel. The war in Lebanon is one of the main obstacles preventing progress in the Iran-US ceasefire talks, as Iran has insisted that any ceasefire must be on all fronts, including Lebanon. Both the US and Israel have rejected Iranian attempts to link the two fronts, though the US president, Donald Trump, has reportedly grown frustrated with Israel’s war in Lebanon in recent weeks as it has spoiled talks with Iran.