Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the military had expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the ‘Yellow Line’, an Israeli-drawn demarcation line near the border, though the reports gave no further details on the extent of the advance. Cross-border fighting has been escalating between Israel and Hezbollah, despite the declaration of a ceasefire several weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Nato will strengthen the defence of its eastern flank with a new structure that would facilitate the rapid deployment of forces in Latvia and Estonia in the event of a war with Russia. At present, Nato forces in all three Baltic nations as well as northern Poland come under the command of a single multinational headquarters in the Polish city of Szczecin. The planned change underlines the strategic importance of the Baltics, which have been in focus since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters explained that assigning a second corps for the region will allow Nato to bring in “mass at speed”, as one military official described it, addressing the region’s limited strategic depth and vulnerability. When fully operational, an army corps typically commands three divisions, or 40,000 to 60,000 troops. In peacetime, it normally exists as a skeleton command structure, with specialist functions such as artillery, air defence and medics in place to allow rapid deployment of troops when needed. Germany and the Netherlands, in coordination with Nato, have reached agreement to assign the German-Netherlands Corps, based in Germany, to the defence of Latvia and Estonia, the military sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Spain’s ministry of consumer rights has blocked access to Polymarket and Kalshi while it investigates whether the leading prediction market sites are violating Spanish law by operating without a gambling licence. On Tuesday the ministry said it had launched disciplinary proceedings against the two platforms, which allow users to bet on everything from the weather to political events, amid allegations that they lacked the “necessary administrative authorisation” to operate in Spain. The two sites would be blocked domestically until the investigation was concluded, it said in a statement, which added: “The process of reaching a final decision is expected to take between three and four months.” The move by Spanish regulators is the latest point of friction between prediction market sites and gambling watchdogs across Europe. In recent years as prediction marketshave swelled into a multibillion-dollar industry and faced accusations of immorality and insider trading, half a dozen countries across Europe have blocked or limited access to Polymarket, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Romania, citing concerns over unlicensed gambling. Spanish officials cast their decision in a similar vein. “In Spain, in line with other European jurisdictions, prediction markets are considered gambling when bets are placed on uncertain future outcomes,” the ministry said. “Therefore, operating them in Spain requires obtaining a specific administrative licence.” To obtain this licence, operators would have to comply with a series of safeguards, such as identity verification systems and mechanisms to bar access by children as well as people who have self-excluded or who are banned from gambling, it added. The ministry said it had attempted to notify Polymarket and Kalshi before blocking the US-based companies but its efforts had “proved unsuccessful”. Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi responded to a request for comment from the Guardian. Scrutiny has steadily mounted over these sites, particularly Polymarket after it emerged that some users had placed substantial bets before the US-Israeli war in Iran and the US’s military action in Venezuela.
A last-minute legal obstacle has been placed in the way of Iran ending its 88-day internet blackout. As the Iranian government announced on Tuesday that the blackout was being brought to an end, an administrative court ruled it would hear a claim that the body overseeing internet use in the country had not been lawfully established. The legal intervention underlines political tensions behind the lifting of internet restrictions among hardliners opposed to the western-influenced internet. One newspaper accused a group of hardliners of being behind the appeal to the administrative justice court. The court itself insisted it was not charged with examining the lifting of internet restrictions themselves, but only the powers of the department for organising and managing cyberspace. The intervention will embarrass Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who has been pressing for the 88-day internet blackout to be ended. It is not clear how long the court needs to decide the issue. Iranian officials pointed to the return of Gmail inside Iran as the first sign that the long demanded, and trailed, change was being implemented. The ban has cut Iranians – save for a privileged minority – off from the global internet. Fears of mass unemployment and commercial bankruptcy led to Pezeshkian – who campaigned on a promise of a free internet – to lobby behind the scenes with security officials for the restrictions to be lifted. A formal announcement was made after a vote by the special taskforce for cyberspace management. Iran’s communications minister, Sattar Hashemi, hailed the government announcement on Tuesday that the blackout was being brought to an end but said restoring the internet would be a gradual process. He said: “Internet restrictions in recent months have caused significant damage to the digital economy, online businesses and the country’s service industries. The continuation of this situation could, in addition to the economic damage, have led to the weakening of investment, the emigration of elite human resources, and the expansion of communication patterns outside the framework of the country’s official governance.” Security officials had resisted a return to the status quo prior to protests in January, fearing free communication with the west might engender more demonstrations. Iranian officials frequently blame satellite channels and social media content for beaming anti-government propaganda into Iranian homes, but many Iranians say the repression of the internet was designed to hide a systemic crackdown on protests, including a spate of judicial executions. Amnesty International said last week that Iranian authorities “have arbitrarily executed at least 36 individuals sentenced to death after being convicted of politically motivated charges. At least 78 protesters, dissidents and others with real or perceived links to banned opposition groups are under sentence of death and at risk of execution.” One estimate suggests as many as 5m jobs in Iran are dependent on the internet, and the crackdown has worsened an already dire economic crisis and high inflation. The cost of food has spiralled, leaving many staple parts of the Iranian diet, such as chicken, beyond the reach of many families. Female workers, including many in rural areas, have been hit especially hard by the blackout. In remarks last week that were widely challenged, the ministry of labour denied that the shutdown had led to job losses, saying companies operating on Instagram had switched to domestic messaging services such as Rubika. Many firms said their businesses had been dependent on the Google search engine, and the total losses to the economy were more than $6m a day. A survey by the Tehran Electronics Association of more than 900 companies found the loss of access to WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram meant they had lost access to 75% of their communication channels. More than 223,000 people had applied for government insurance since the start of the war, one small index of the numbers losing their jobs. The shutdown started during the January economic and political protests, but Iran’s national security council intensified the blackout when the US and Israel attacked on 28 February. Iran imposes fierce penalties on anyone found sending information or pictures to satellite channels such as Iran International. In an attempt to calm the repeated demand for the internet to be restored as a public right, the national security council approved a plan – called Internet Pro – to grant certain groups paid internet access, albeit with a daily usage limit on foreign websites and international data traffic. But the cost of access was prohibitive to many young people. Platforms such as Instagram, X and YouTube have long been formally blocked in Iran but are routinely accessed via virtual private networks (VPNs). The Iranian political class frequently use X even though it is nominally unlawful. There is also a lucrative business in Iran in the sale of anti-filtering devices.
An investigation is under way after four people, including two children, were killed when a school minibus collided with a train in northern Belgium. Five children were injured in the crash at a level crossing near the small town of Buggenhout in Flanders on Tuesday. Belgium’s transport minister, Jean-Luc Crucke, told RTL TV that two young people, the bus driver and an adult accompanying the children had lost their lives. “My first thoughts are with the victims, but also those people who are injured and their families,” he said. The other five passengers in the bus, all children, were taken to hospital with serious injuries and were said to be in stable condition. The crash happened just after 8am on Tuesday when a school minivan collided with a train travelling from Bruges to Buggenhout, about 14 miles (22km) north of Brussels. The bus was reported to have attempted to cross the level crossing, despite lowered barriers and a flashing red light. On seeing the van, the train driver applied the emergency brakes but was unable to avoid the collision. A spokesperson for the rail network operator Infrabel told the Flemish public broadcaster VRT: “We do not know how the accident could have happened. That is for the police and the public prosecutor’s office to investigate.” A spokesperson for the public prosecutor told reporters that the four victims were two children aged 15 and 12, their 27-year-old chaperone and the driver of the van, who was 49. TV footage showed the crumpled white minivan overturned on its side at the crossing, with ambulances and a helicopter. Such was the force of the impact that the bus was catapulted into the driveway of a house, according to a VRT reporter at the scene. The children were on their way to a special educational needs school in the town. “What could have been a beautiful spring morning suddenly turned into a pitch-black day,” the East Flanders politician responsible for the school, Kurt Moens, told local media. “The accident in Buggenhout affects us all very deeply. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish the injured much strength.” Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, wrote on X that he was “deeply moved by the horrific accident in Buggenhout. My thoughts go out to the affected families.” The national rail operator SNCB/NMBS said the train had been carrying about 100 people, none of whom were injured. “One passenger was in a state of shock, but no one on the train was injured,” a spokesperson told local media. The passengers were evacuated to a local fire station. Belgium, which has one of the oldest railway networks in Europe, with a dense thicket of lines, has a history of accidents at level crossings, although the trend has been declining. In 2024, five people died and nine were seriously injured in accidents at level crossings, according to Infrabel’s latest annual report. The operator reported 30 accidents that year, which the news agency Belga and the Brussels Times said was historically low, in contrast to an average of 45-50 accidents between 2008 and 2021. Over the last 21 years Infrabel has removed 450 level crossings from the network as part of efforts to improve safety, with about 1,600 remaining. Among condolences from across Europe, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was heartbroken to learn of the accident. “Today, Europe grieves with Belgium,” she said.
The EU could deny future member states veto rights for several years in an attempt to make enlargement more politically acceptable as the bloc undergoes a push to admit new countries before the end of the decade. Under plans being considered by the European Commission, prospective member states – such as Moldova and western Balkan countries – would not, on joining the EU, have the automatic right to veto foreign policy decisions or other issues agreed by unanimity, such as taxation. The idea is especially pertinent for Montenegro, the frontrunner among nine official EU candidate countries. The former Yugoslav republic of 624,000 people is vying to become the EU’s 28th member state by 2028. This month a technical group tasked with drafting Montenegro’s accession treaty met for the first time, a sign that the 14-year negotiations were entering the final stages. Against this backdrop, EU officials are considering safeguards on new joiners to prevent decisions being blocked by one member state, according to four EU sources. The idea emerged after a bruising experience with Hungary, whose previous pro-Russian government led by Viktor Orbán vetoed several big EU decisions, notably a €90bn loan for Ukraine. A time-limited ban on veto powers could be written into Montenegro’s accession treaty, which would serve as a template for others waiting in the wings. The safeguard is considered to be legally borderline and could only be introduced for a temporary period in order to avoid creating second-class EU members. In a separate development, Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, wrote to EU leaders last week calling for “innovative solutions” to accelerate EU accession for western Balkan countries. In a letter describing EU enlargement as a “geopolitical necessity” Merz also called for “associate membership for Ukraine” as a “decisive step on Ukraine’s path to full membership”. Associate membership for Ukraine would mean participation in EU meetings and representation in the bloc’s institutions without voting rights. Germany’s proposal, Merz wrote, “reflects Ukraine’s particular situation, a country at war” and would “facilitate the ongoing peace talks”. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rejected this idea: “Ukraine’s place in the European Union must also be complete – full and equal,” he wrote on social media after Merz’s letter became public. EU enlargement had almost ground to a halt until Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 injected new urgency into membership talks with eastern neighbours. The commission said last year it could admit new members by 2030, identifying Montenegro and Albania as the frontrunners, while praising Moldova’s fast progress and suggesting that EU membership could be a security guarantee for Ukraine. A delay on veto powers is one of several safeguards being discussed in order to make EU enlargement easier to accept. Existing EU member states must agree unanimously on admitting new countries. Officials are particularly concerned about ratification in France, where presidential elections will be held in 2027 and scepticism about EU expansion is increasing – a recent Eurobarometer survey found that only 43% of French respondents favoured EU enlargement, but that 48% were against. EU sources argue there is a need for creative thinking to make enlargement happen, especially in the western Balkans, a region of 17.4 million people, where Russia and China are trying to gain influence. One EU diplomat said delaying veto rights was one of the “constructive solutions” being considered as part of a process of “thinking creatively” on EU enlargement. A second diplomat said: “There is a debate on how to ensure that a larger enlargement would be beneficial for both the candidate countries and the EU itself. The ideas relating to internal reforms and different features of the accession treaties are all part of this.” Germany has led efforts for internal EU reform, such as abolishing vetoes in foreign policy, fearing that an unreformed union of 35+ countries would be a recipe for gridlock. The German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said earlier this month that “a union with 33, 34 or 35 member states cannot simply continue to operate according to the same approach that was designed for a much smaller group”. But the EU executive fears that waiting for consensus on EU reforms, which could require treaty change, could put enlargement on the backburner. Among candidate countries, Ukraine is considered to be distinct because of its size, its war with Russia and the vast costs of reconstruction. The total cost of rebuilding Ukraine was estimated at $588bn as of 21 December 2025, three times the size of its economy. EU officials think Ukraine is on track to technically complete its accession process in four years, but see the entry date as a political question tied to a peace settlement. Engjellushe Morina, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a thinktank, said a temporary block on veto powers was “not so drastic” and would be used by politicians to sell enlargement. “I wouldn’t be surprised that we see something like this in Montenegro’s treaty. And this would be a blueprint for other member states for new members. This will be one of the things that politicians, policymakers will come out and say: ‘look we are doing this and that as safeguards and we are taking these precautionary measures’. That’s the logic.” The idea was also a way of insulating the union from a new member state that takes a drastically different direction after accession, for example the election of a pro-Russian government in Montenegro. The commission and EU member states want to “waterproof the union from these hypothetical situations”, she said. A source from the Montenegrin government said its goal remained full EU membership, “with all the rights and responsibilities that come with being an equal member state”, while adding that Montenegro “does not oppose safeguard mechanisms and believes they can play a constructive role in ensuring the sustainability of reforms even after accession”.
Seven people have died in France in an extreme early-summer heat event that is affecting a swathe of western Europe, as France and the UK set record highs for May and temperatures were forecast to rise further on Tuesday. “What I can say today is that there have been seven deaths linked directly or indirectly to the heat,” a French government spokesperson, Maud Bregeon, told TF1 television, adding that five of the deaths were by drowning. Météo France, the national weather agency, said Monday’s highest reading, 37.1C, was recorded near Hossegor, in the south-western department of Les Landes, and that temperatures across the west of the country could exceed 36C on Tuesday. It said Monday was “the hottest day measured for the month of May since records began”, with the national average temperature, measured at 30 stations across the country, hitting 24.4C, compared with a previous high of 23.7C in 1944. The UK’s Met Office said Monday was the country’s hottest May day on record, with temperatures hitting 34.8C at Kew Gardens, south-west London, a reading it described as “exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone May”. In Spain, widespread highs of 36-38C in the Guadiana, Guadalquivir and Ebro valleys were expected to continue possibly until Friday, the state weather service, Aemet, said, adding that “in some of those areas, temperatures could reach 40C”. In Italy’s Lazio region, which includes Rome, authorities have imposed restrictions on work in conditions “with prolonged exposure in the sun”, for example on farms, construction sites and in the delivery sector, between 12.30pm and 4pm. Eight of France’s 96 administrative departments have been placed on an orange high-temperature alert, the second-highest level, requiring the population to “be vigilant and take precautions”, with a further 20 on a more moderate yellow warning. It was the first time the national heat warning system had been activated in May since it was introduced in 2004. “This is an unprecedented event with a one in 1,000 chance of happening at this time of year in the climate of 1979 to 2025,” Christophe Cassou, a climate scientist, told Le Monde. “It would have been virtually impossible in the pre-industrial era.” The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, called a meeting of key ministers on Thursday to assess government preparations for heatwaves after more than 350 weather stations across France recorded new monthly highs on Monday. More records were likely to be set in France, Spain and the UK on Tuesday, forecasters said, with temperatures exceeding norms by 12C or 13C in what Météo France described as a “premature, remarkable and long” heat episode expected to last several more days. The agency said the episode was caused by a heat dome, with hot air from Morocco trapped under an area of high pressure, and that Europe could expect such events to “occur more and more often, earlier and earlier, and to be more and more intense”. Models have already estimated that, with the effects of climate breakdown, June heatwaves are now about 10 times more likely in Europe than they were in the pre-industrial era, and the same trajectory is becoming evident for May. “This extension of the heatwave season is entirely characteristic of the effects of climate change,” Robert Vautard, a climate researcher, told Agence France-Presse. “Eventually, we will be seeing similar heat events in April and October.” Two deaths in France on Sunday have been directly attributed to the heat: a woman competing in a Hyrox fitness competition in Lyon died of hyperthermia, and a 53-year-old man had a heart attack during a 10km running race in Paris. Sixteen people were hospitalised, including 10 in a critical condition, during another road race in the Paris suburb of Maisons-Alfort. Three teenagers were among those who drowned in swimming accidents over the weekend. High temperatures drove many people to the country’s beaches and rivers to cool off in the water, even though lifeguard supervision is not due to start in most areas until July. While parts of the UK are entering a heatwave – with temperatures exceeding 26C to 28C, depending on the location, for three consecutive days – in France, night-time temperatures must also stay above a certain level for an official heatwave to be declared.
Good morning. There is little doubt that when Vladimir Putin ordered his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he did not expect his troops to still be embroiled there in 2026. And he surely never envisaged a scaled-down victory parade in Moscow, stripped of military hardware, for fear of Ukrainian drone attacks on his own capital. Putin has survived dangerous moments before, but with the Russian economy stuttering, his popularity is waning – not only with the public but also with the elites who have underpinned his regime for decades. An undoubted master of survival, the unwritten contract the president has with the Russian people is starting to fray. For today’s newsletter, I spoke to the Guardian’s Russian affairs reporter, Pjotr Sauer, about this shift in the national mood and whether the man in the Kremlin has any plan at all for what comes next. Five big stories Middle East | The US has launched strikes on southern Iran in a test of the seven-week long ceasefire, as both sides played down hopes for an imminent peace deal even as negotiators from Tehran began new talks in Qatar. UK politics | Rachel Reeves has instructed cabinet colleagues to award government contracts in four critical industries directly to British companies, making clear her irritation that ministers have been sending too much government business abroad. Scotland | Peter Murrell, once one of the most powerful people in British politics, faces a long prison sentence after he admitted to stealing more than £400,000 from the Scottish National party to fund a lavish personal lifestyle. Cost of living | Higher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt “for many months to come”. UK news | The fierce heat sweeping across Europe over the bank holiday weekend has beaten the UK’s all-time temperature record for May, with scorching highs of close to 35C. In depth: ‘Putin has broken the unwritten contract he had with the population’ Vladimir Putin must have believed – and his top aides must have assured him – that the Russian army would simply march into Kyiv in 2022, topple Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government, and install a puppet replacement that would rapidly cede sovereignty of the Donbas to Moscow. That did not happen. “In the fifth year of the war, we’re seeing growing ripples of discontent in Russian society,” Pjotr tells me. “Russia is a deeply authoritarian state, where people can’t just go and protest, but we’re seeing that his approval ratings are slipping.” Putin’s approval rating was at 63% months before invading Ukraine. The month after the assault began, it rose to 83%. But it is on the slide again, and in April this year Russia’s general happiness index hit a 15-year low, according to a state pollster. “His approval ratings are still very high if you compare them to western governments,” Pjotr says, “but it is now on the same level as it was before the full-scale invasion.” *** A sense of unease While the invasion of Ukraine initially gave Putin’s ratings a boost – a “rally round the flag effect”, as Pjotr puts it – that has long since worn off. As well as polling, another telltale sign of discontent is found online. “Bloggers who have been traditionally quite pro-Putin are starting to speak out about a number of problems in the country,” Pjotr tells me. A longstanding political truism that applies to governments across the globe is “it’s the economy, stupid”. Indeed, the economy in Russia is faltering. “Growth is projected to be only around 0.4%. In reality, Russia could even already be in a recession,” Pjotr says. The effect for ordinary people are visible, as higher taxes and rising inflation have sent groceries and household bills soaring. That sense of unease has been exacerbated by draconian moves by security services to impose complete internet shutdowns. This isn’t just the inconvenience of not being able to scroll through popular Russian sites such as VKontakte or Dzen; it is a matter of basic infrastructure. “You have to realise that Russia is a deeply digital society,” Pjotr says. “In Moscow and St Petersburg, there are tens of thousands of delivery personnel and drivers for the Russian equivalent of Uber. Suddenly, with these shutdowns, the capital was paralysed, which has led to billions of roubles in losses.” *** A broken contract “Taken together,” Pjotr says, “the internet shutdowns, the economy doing worse, no clear path to victory, and more Ukrainian drones hitting Russian cities – Putin has broken the unwritten contract he had with the population. Since the start of the war, the deal was, ‘I’ll do this war while keeping you guys as shielded as possible from the consequences.’ Now, more Russians are seeing that their lives are changing as well.” This disillusionment has reached the upper echelons of the Kremlin. The Russian elite – both the government officials and the oligarchs – initially hoped for a quick victory or a Trump-brokered peace deal. Now, they see a president with no exit strategy. As one business leader told Pjotr for this recent report, there is “a growing sense that some kind of catastrophe is looming”. *** No plan B? If the elites are looking for a way out, the man at the top certainly doesn’t appear to be. Despite the occasional rumour about his health, Putin, who is 73, appears to be in relatively good mental and physical shape. More importantly, he has successfully trapped himself in power. “There are no indications that Putin is planning a successor,” Pjotr says. “He changed the constitution to allow him to run again, and with the next elections not until 2030, he has many years left he could rule.” The reality for Putin is that power is now a matter of survival. Between the international criminal court warrant for his arrest and the long memory of the Ukrainian security services, retirement to a cushy Black Sea villa is no longer a viable option. “He knows he’ll forever be a target,” Pjotr says. “He believes that as long as he’s in power, he’s safe. The people below him are too scared to even talk about succession; he’s approaching his third decade in power, and there’s no sign he’s going anywhere.” *** The information vacuum It has previously been a mistake to count Putin out. As Pjotr points out, we have been here before. In 2011, amid mass protests in Moscow, his ratings were in the doldrums; he fixed that by annexing Crimea. More recently, the 2023 Wagner rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to be the greatest threat to his authority in decades. Yet Putin handled the mutiny with his characteristic, ruthless brand of “Russian governance”. Prigozhin’s subsequent death in a plane crash served as a visceral warning to any other elites considering a similar move. “Putin managed to deal with that quite ruthlessly,” Pjotr says. “He seemed to survive that situation. But now, it doesn’t seem like he has another trump card to boost his popularity to play, as he had with Crimea or Ukraine.” Despite public discontent, the consensus among analysts is that any real threat to the regime will come from inside the Kremlin, not the streets. Former defence minister Sergei Shoigu has been touted as a potential challenger – but Putin has moved to systematically dismantle his power base by arresting his closest associates. Oligarchs, meanwhile, appear to be sitting quiet and hoping it will always be somebody else’s turn to catch Putin’s eye – Vadim Moshkovich, the billionaire founder of a major agricultural firm, was the most recent to face arrest. One question that vexes even western intelligence agencies is the extent to which Putin receives accurate information. The sources Pjotr and Shaun Walker spoke to for their weekend read on the topic say it is hard to gauge to what extent the Russian president lives in a “parallel reality”. He keeps making speeches, Pjotr notes, where it seems Ukraine is permanently about to collapse. While the west waits for a moment of Russian “collapse”, Putin remains fixated on a singular goal: the full capture of the Donbas by the end of the year. “The big question is whether Putin is being misled or told overly positive reports by his military commanders,” Pjotr says. “In an authoritarian state, the people below you always try to tell you how good things are.” Five years into a war that was supposed to last weeks, it seems the person most insulated from the consequences of Putin’s invasion may be the president himself. What else we’ve been reading It would be a terrible week to start. But Amy Fleming gave up her weather app for a week to understand how it was shaping her life. Patrick As part of our sports desk’s comprehensive review of the Premier League season, Simon Burnton gets let loose on his gripes of the season to amusing effect. Martin The newsletters team’s very own Charlie Lindlar has written a moving account of what his pet rabbit, Tilly, taught him about raising a family. Patrick Here’s an utterly compelling account of dealing with parents being scammed online, woven into a magical essay about spells and security advice. Martin In a world dominated by social media companies trying to distract us, Zahra Onsori struggled to get anything done. But a simple kitchen timer helped her to break the cycle of procrastination and to focus once again. Patrick Sport Swimming | The Enhanced Games has dismissed suggestions by online sleuths that a world record set in Sunday’s event was mistakenly timed, calling them “completely unfounded internet drivel”. Cricket | England achieved a straightforward win against New Zealand at Hove on Monday, bowling the visitors out for 80 before chasing down the runs with 37 balls to spare and taking the series 2-1. Football | West Ham are expected to part company with Nuno Espírito Santo this week after their relegation from the Premier League. The front pages “Former SNP chief Peter Murrell admits £400,000 embezzlement” is the Guardian’s front page. The Telegraph says “Sturgeon ‘must come clean’ over husband’s £400k theft”, while the Mail writes “How could Sturgeon not know?”. The FT leads on “Iran energy shock starts to squeeze real wages in world’s rich countries”. The Times says “Social media is the new smoking, medics warn”, and on another topic the i Paper writes “Andrew received expenses boost as trade envoy … after review he ordered”. The Mirror splashes “Revolting repulsive Reform”. The Express says “Migrants will get half of all new homes”. Lastly, Metro leads with “Bank hottest day Monday”. Today in Focus Andy Burnham’s (third) bid for the Labour leadership The Guardian’s north of England editor, Josh Halliday, talks to Nosheen Iqbal about what Manchester mayor Andy Burnham stands for and how his political journey has brought him here. Cartoon of the day | Rebecca Hendin The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad From the end of the Premier League season to the start of the French Open, it has been a major bank holiday weekend of sport. But on Cooper’s Hill, Gloucestershire, the annual cheese-rolling festival was the main event. Competitors from across the world travelled to the West Country to throw themselves down the slope in chase of a tightly wrapped cheese. This time, the event was won by a German YouTuber, Tom Kopke, who defeated the all-time champion and local competitor Chris Anderson. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply